Records of the American Friends Service Committee, Midwest Branch, Advisory Committee for Evacuees, 1942-1963

Overview of the Collection

Creator
American Friends Service Committee. Midwest Branch. Advisory Committee for Evacuees
Title
Records of the American Friends Service Committee, Midwest Branch, Advisory Committee for Evacuees
Dates
1942-1963 (inclusive)
Quantity
10 linear ft. ((25 boxes))
Collection Number
(Accession No. 4791-001)
Summary
Quaker social service organization which coordinated Chicago-area aid to displaced Japanese Americans from 1942 to 1945.
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Boxes 1, 2, and 25 are of these records are open to all users. Boxes 3-24 are open only to scholars working in their fields of expertise.

Material stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

In July 1942, the U.S. War Relocation Authority announced a policy that permitted qualified inmates to leave incarceration centers to accept permanent jobs outside of designated war zones. Applicants were required to have a means of support and a place to live. Cities in the Midwest such as Chicago were suddenly faced with finding housing and jobs for a massive influx of Americans of Japanese descent coming from West Coast camps. Local social service agencies began to organize to meet the need, and it soon became apparent that an overall coordinating body was need.

The Midwest Branch of the American Friends Service Committee (a Quaker social service organization) took on this responsibilty by organizing the Advisory Committee for Evacuees. Membership in the committee included representatives from eighteen social service agencies as well as other interested individuals concerned about the problems faced by the displaced Japanese Americans. The committee was chaired by Rolland W. Schloerb of the Chicago Federation of Churches. Edwin G. Morgenroth of the Midwest Branch of the AFSC served as Executive Secretary.

The committee cooperated closely with the War Relocation Authority, which reviewed applications to be released released from the camps and conducted background checks. The AFSC accepted applications for employment and acted as a clearing house for jobs, housing, and educational opportunities. It maintained hostels in Chicago to provide temporary housing for former inmates as they arrived from the camps. The AFSC also attempted to promote community acceptance of displaced Japanese Americans and to minimize problems of adjustment.

Because of the success of this arrangement the War Relocation Authority asked the AFSC at the national level, to perform similar services for college students needing to transfer to schools out of the west-coast war-zone. This resulted in the formation of the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council. The Midwest Branch of the AFSC was also designated as a field office for this organization.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The records in this collection appear to be from the Executive Director's office of the Advisory Committee for Evacuees. Boxes 1 and 2 and 25 contain minutes of the committee's meetings; correspondence with the War Relocation Authority; correspondence regarding specific programs sponsored by the committee; reports and newsletters of agencies and organizations working with Japanese Americans and files which document the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council's efforts to match nursing students with openings in Chicago-area programs. Boxes 3-24 contain case files (application for housing and employment), and a card file that documents contacts with inividuals (including a narrative account of services provided). Many cards include comments on how individuals were received by the community.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Much of the material consists of case files and contact records that identify individuals by name. Users must guarantee privacy of these individuals in a written agreement. Copying and quotation are permitted for boxes 1 and 2 and 25 only. For additional information, contact the repository.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

No records document the gift of this material to the University of Washington Libraries. The best guess is that these are the records of the Advisory Committee for Evacuees, possibly formed under the auspices of the American Friends Service Committee at an organizational meeting in Chicago on July 28, 1942. The records are assumed to have come to the University via the Council of Churches of Greater Seattle.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

General CorrespondenceReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1
Advisory Committee for Evacuees - Consultants on Integration
June 1943
1/2-4
Advisory Committee for Evacuees - Miscellaneous
Jul. 1942 - Jan. 1946
1/5
Assimilation
May 1943 - June 1944
1/6-8
Christmas Gifts for Tule Lake
Sept. - Nov. 1942
1/9
Gates, Isabelle
Feb. - July 1943
1/10-12
National Japanese American Student Relocation Council - Nursing
July 1943 - Mar. 1945
1/13
Relocation - Community Interpretation
May 1942 - Mar. 1945
1/14-15
Relocation - American Friends Service Committee Forms and Procedure
July 1942 - June 1943
1/16
Relocation - Housing Publicity
Apr. 1943
1/17-18
Relocation Inquiries Out of City
June 1942 - Aug. 1943
1/19
Relocation Students
May 1945
1/19
Relocation WRA Letter re: Formation of Committee to Assist Evacuees
May 1942 - Feb. 1963
Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
2/1
Room and Board Positions
n.d.
Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
2/2-3
Advisory Committee for Evacuees
July 1942 - Oct. 1943
Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
2/4
American Friends Service Committee - Japanese American Resettlement
Aug. 1, 1945
2/5
War Relocation Authority - Miscellaneous
Dec. 1942
2/6
War Relocation Authority - Quarterly Report
July - Sept., 1942

Case FilesReturn to Top

Restricted.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
3/1-57
A - E
1942-1945
4/1-52
F - Han
1942-1945
5/1-52
Har - Ho
1942-1945
6/1-54
Hor - Ito
1942-1945
7/1-63
Ito - Ka
1942-1945
8/1-66
Ki - Kur
1942-1945
9/1-65
Kuri - Mat
1942-1945
10/1-54
Mi - Mur
1942-1945
11/1-70
Nad - Nis
1942-1945
12/1-66
Nit - Omo
1942-1945
13/1-30
Ono - P
1942-1945
14/1-71
Sab - Shin
1942-1945
15/1-67
Shio - Taka
1942-1945
16/1-65
Take - Toku
1942-1945
17/1-62
Tom - Yamag
1942-1945
18/1-53
Yamam - Z
1942-1945

Chicago ApplicationsReturn to Top

Restricted.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
19/1-17
A - I
1942-1945
20/1-19
K - Mur
1942-1945
21/1-22
N - Tan
1942-1945
22/1-11
Te - Z
1942-1945

File CardsReturn to Top

Restricted.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
23
A - N
1942-1945
24
O - Z
1942-1945
Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
25/1
Representatives Attending Meeting of Advisory Committee for Evacuees
n.d.

BulletinsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
AFSC - Japanese-American Relations Committee
Box/Folder
25/2
Pacific Coast Branch
Feb., Apr., June, 1942
25/2
Southern California Branch
Dec. 1942, Apr. 1943, Apr. 1944
Box/Folder
25/2
Minorities in the U. S.
May 15, 1942
25/3
Church Federation Bulletin
Dec. 1942
25/3
Federal Council of the Churches of America
Dec. 6, 1943

PeriodicalsReturn to Top

Description Dates
Methodist Church -The Christian Advocate
Poston Relocation Center -Poston Notes and Activities
Apr. 1943
WRA - Field Bulletin - North Central Area
May 15, 1945

NewslettersReturn to Top

Description Dates
WRA - Kansas City Area Relocation Office
Sept. - Nov. 1943
North Central Area
May 1944

NewssheetsReturn to Top

Description Dates
WRA - National Japanese American Student Relocation Council
Jan. 1945 - June 1945

News ReleasesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box/Folder
25/9
WRA - Office of War Information re: Tule Lake

NewspapersReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Japanese American Citizens League
Box/Folder
25/10
Pacific Citizen
Dec. 18, 1943, Oct. 7, 1944
25/10
Heart Mountain Sentinel
Nov. 27,1943

ClippingsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
25/11
Miscellaneous
1942-1943

EphemeraReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
25/12
Nursing
1942-1944
25/13
Miscellaneous
1943-1945

Folio of DrawingsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box/Folder
25/14
Prints after Sketches of Relocation Centers by Henry Fukuhaba

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Japanese Americans--Education--East (U.S.)
  • Japanese Americans--Employment--East (U.S.)
  • Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
  • Japanese Americans--Housing--Illinois--Chicago
  • World War, 1939-1945--Japanese Americans
  • World War, 1939-1945--War work--Society of Friends

Corporate Names

  • American Friends Service Committee. Midwest Branch. Advisory Committee for Evacuees--Archives
  • National Japanese American Student Relocation Council
  • United States. War Relocation Authority

Geographical Names

  • Chicago (Ill.)--Emigration and immigration--Social aspects

Form or Genre Terms

  • Prints

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)