University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
(Accession No. 4791-001)
American Friends Service Committee. Midwest Branch. Advisory Committee for Evacuees
Records of the
American Friends Service Committee, Midwest Branch, Advisory Committee for
Evacuees
1942-1963
10 linear ft. ((25 boxes))
Collection materials
are in English.
Quaker social
service organization which coordinated Chicago-area aid to displaced Japanese
Americans from 1942 to 1945.
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.
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.
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.
Request at UW
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.
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.
American Friends Service Committee. Midwest Branch. Advisory Committee for Evacuees--Archives
National Japanese American Student Relocation Council
United States. War Relocation Authority
Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
World War, 1939-1945--War work--Society of Friends
Japanese Americans--Housing--Illinois--Chicago
Japanese Americans--Education--East (U.S.)
Japanese Americans--Employment--East (U.S.)
World War, 1939-1945--Japanese Americans
Chicago (Ill.)--Emigration and immigration--Social aspects
Prints
Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
Japanese Americans
Civil Rights
Military
General Correspondence
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
Notes
2/1
Room and Board Positions
n.d.
Minutes
2/2-3
Advisory Committee for Evacuees
July 1942 - Oct.
1943
Reports
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 Files
Restricted.
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 Applications
Restricted.
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 Cards
Restricted.
23
A - N
1942-1945
24
O - Z
1942-1945
Lists
25/1
Representatives Attending Meeting of Advisory Committee
for Evacuees
n.d.
Bulletins
AFSC - Japanese-American Relations Committee
25/2
Pacific Coast Branch
Feb., Apr., June,
1942
25/2
Southern California Branch
Dec. 1942, Apr. 1943,
Apr. 1944
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
Periodicals
Methodist Church -The Christian
Advocate
Poston Relocation Center -Poston
Notes and Activities
Apr. 1943
WRA - Field Bulletin - North Central Area
May 15, 1945
Newsletters
WRA - Kansas City Area Relocation Office
Sept. - Nov.
1943
North Central Area
May 1944
Newssheets
WRA - National Japanese American Student Relocation
Council
Jan. 1945 - June
1945
News Releases
25/9
WRA - Office of War Information re: Tule Lake
Newspapers
Japanese American Citizens League
25/10
Pacific
Citizen
Dec. 18, 1943, Oct. 7,
1944
25/10
Heart Mountain
Sentinel
Nov. 27,1943
Clippings
25/11
Miscellaneous
1942-1943
Ephemera
25/12
Nursing
1942-1944
25/13
Miscellaneous
1943-1945
Folio of Drawings
25/14
Prints after Sketches of Relocation Centers by Henry
Fukuhaba