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COLLECTION Identifier: 16007

Unitarian Service Committee. Executive Director. Records, 1940-1951.

Overview

Records of the Unitarian Service Committee, consisting chiefly of the records of Robert Dexter, executive director, 1941-1944; Charles Joy, executive director, 1944-1946; and Raymond Bragg, executive director, 1947-1952. The collection also includes correspondence from Edward A. Cahill, associate director, 1944-1947; Howard L. Brooks, associate director, 1943-1953, and acting director, July-November 1952, July 1946-March 1947; and other people associated with the Service Committee, such as Martha and Waitstill Sharp, Noel Field, Seth Gano, and Elizabeth Dexter. Other correspondence is that of various organizations that were active in assisting people displaced by World War II, such as the American Christian Committee for Refugees, the American Friends Service Committee, the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee, the Refugee Relief Trustees, the Congregational Christian Service Committee, and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

Dates

  • Creation: 1940-1951.

Extent

27 boxes

This collection includes the records of Robert Dexter, executive director, 1941-1944; Charles Joy, executive director, 1944-1946; and Raymond Bragg, executive director, 1947-1952. There is also correspondence from Edward A. Cahill, associate director, 1944-1947; Howard L. Brooks, associate director, 1943-1953, and acting director, July-November 1952, July 1946-March 1947; and other people associated with the Service Committee, such as Martha and Waitstill Sharp, Noel Field, Seth Gano, and Elizabeth Dexter. There is also a considerable amount of correspondence with various organizations that were active in assisting people displaced by World War II. Some of these groups were the American Christian Committee for Refugees, the American Friends Service Committee, the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee, the Refugee Relief Trustees, the Congregational Christian Service Committee, and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. The collection also includes correspondence with people who were attempting to get their relatives and friends out of Europe; reports on the work of the Unitarian Service Committee in countries such as France, England, Switzerland, and Portugal, and reports on the work of the Unitarian Home Service Committee in the United States.

Biographical / Historical

The Unitarian Service Committee was formed as a standing committee of the American Unitarian Association in May 1940. Its purpose was to be a committee to investigate opportunities both in America and abroad for humanitarian service. During and after World War II, The Unitarian Service Committee aided hundreds of displaced persons in occupied countries, allowing many of them to find passage to the United States. The present-day Unitarian Universalist Service Committee continues to endeavor to advance human rights and social justice throughout the world.

Title
Unitarian Service Committee. Executive Director. Records, 1940-1951: A Finding Aid.
Author
Andover-Harvard Theological Library
Language of description
und
EAD ID
div16007

Repository Details

Part of the Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard University Repository

Special Collections at Harvard Divinity School Library preserves and makes accessible primary source materials documenting the history of religion and theology, with particular historical emphasis on American liberal religious traditions. Though the historical strengths of the collections have been in the field of Christianity, other religious traditions are increasingly reflected, in step with Harvard Divinity School's evolving focus on global religious studies. Known as Andover-Harvard Theological Library since 1911, it was renamed the Harvard Divinity School Library in 2021.

Contact:
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