- Accession Number
- 2007-3-5
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2007-3-5
- Material Format
- textual record
- Physical Description
- 12.5 m of textual material and 6 boxes of index cards
- Date
- [195-?]-[198-]
- Scope and Content
- This accession consists of 43 cubic foot boxes of closed case files as well as six boxes of index cards created by the United Restitution Organization, Toronto Office. The case files document the Article 2 (boxes 1 - 11) and Hardship (boxes 12 - 43) programs. Most of the documentation within the case files are in German.
- The index cards document the BEG and Russlandfaille programs and correspond to records that were transferred to the Holocaust Museum in Washington. The files were created during the early years of the URO that were donated by URO to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. in October, 1990. That institution has approximately 100 boxes of closed case files from the Toronto Office. The index cards DO NOT correspond to any case files that we have as part of our holdings.
- Custodial History
- After the Toronto URO office closed, the one case worker left moved from the second floor of the Lipa Green Building to the same floor as the OJA the end of March, 2007. Before the move, the OJA was asked to take all of the historical files that were there in boxes, listed them and transferred them to the UJA Warehouse. The index cards are in the OJA vault.
- Administrative History
- In Canada, the United Restitution Organization (URO) was founded in 1953 under the aegis of the Canadian Jewish Congress. The funds advanced by the Claims Conference were administered by the CJC which also gave support by providing the URO with office space and clerical staff. Offices were set up in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. The Winnipeg and Vancouver offices closed in the 1970s and the Montreal office remained open until 2002, after which time the active cases were sent to the Toronto office. The Toronto office officially closed on April 1, 2007. There was one case worker, however, who contintued to tend to any active claims that were left. Her position was transfered to Jewish Family and Child in 2013.
The URO dealt with a variety of different types of claims. The first and largest were the BEG cases (Bundesentschaedigungsgesetz), which translates as Federal Indemnification Law for the Compensation of Victims of National Socialist Persecution. This program provided compensation for individuals persecuted for political, racial, religious, or ideological reasons who suffered long-term damage to their health, imprisonment, death of family members, loss of property, reduced income, or reduced professional advancement. The other two major programs or cases covered by the URO were the Hardship Fund and Article 2. The Hardship Fund was established during the 1960s and was open to Jews who emigrated from the former Soviet Union who were not eligible for compensation under the BEG program. The Article 2 program, in turn, arose during the 1990s, after the unification of the German government. It is still operating today and is open to Jewish victims of Nazi persecution who met a certain critiera, and those who are eligible, are provided with a pension paid out in installments every three months each year.
- Use Conditions
- Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records.
- Subjects
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Nonprofit organizations
- Name Access
- United Restitution Organization (Toronto, Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2015-1-6
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Accession Number
- 2015-1-6
- Material Format
- textual record
- Physical Description
- 11 m of textual records
- Date
- [195-]-2012
- Scope and Content
- Accession consists of United Restitution Organization (URO), Toronto Office case files for the following funds: Hardship Fund; Hardship Fund, Pre-1965 Austrian; German Social Security (EB); German Social Security (DE); Article 2 Fund; Ghetto Lodz; and the immidiate post-Second World War Wiedergutmachung reparations. There is also a small amount of general operational files.
- Custodial History
- These records were left in the URO office following the departure of the URO staff person. They were boxed and moved by archives staff.
- Administrative History
- In Canada, the United Restitution Organization (URO) was founded in 1953 under the aegis of the Canadian Jewish Congress. The funds advanced by the Claims Conference were administered by the CJC which also gave support by providing the URO with office space and clerical staff. Offices were set up in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. The Winnipeg and Vancouver offices closed in the 1970s and the Montreal office remained open until 2002, after which time the active cases were sent to the Toronto office. The Toronto office officially closed on April 1, 2007. There was one case worker, however, who contintued to tend to any active claims that were left. Her position was transfered to Jewish Family and Child in 2013.
The URO dealt with a variety of different types of claims. The first and largest were the BEG cases (Bundesentschaedigungsgesetz), which translates as Federal Indemnification Law for the Compensation of Victims of National Socialist Persecution. This program provided compensation for individuals persecuted for political, racial, religious, or ideological reasons who suffered long-term damage to their health, imprisonment, death of family members, loss of property, reduced income, or reduced professional advancement. The other two major programs or cases covered by the URO were the Hardship Fund and Article 2. The Hardship Fund was established during the 1960s and was open to Jews who emigrated from the former Soviet Union who were not eligible for compensation under the BEG program. The Article 2 program, in turn, arose during the 1990s, after the unification of the German government. It is still operating today and is open to Jewish victims of Nazi persecution who met a certain critiera, and those who are eligible, are provided with a pension paid out in installments every three months each year.
- Use Conditions
- Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director prior to accessing the records.
- Subjects
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Nonprofit organizations
- Name Access
- United Restitution Organization (Toronto, Ont.)
- Source
- Archival Accessions
- Part Of
- United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee fonds
- Letters from organizations series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 148
- Series
- 2
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- 1945-1950
- Physical Description
- 10 cm of textual records
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 6 x 6 cm
- Scope and Content
- Series consists of correspondence and related documents from Ostrovtzer societies in North and South America, Europe, and Palestine, as well as other organizations collaborating with Ostrovtzer societies to provide aid to Holocaust survivors from Ostrowiec, Poland. A photograph is included with one of the letters. Materials were created between 1945 and 1950 and document the activities of the various organizations, including efforts to assist with immigration, distribution of financial and material aid, coordination with other organizations, conference planning, and other relief activities. The materials also provide insights into the post-war challenges faced by the Ostrovtzer community.
- Series is arranged into eighteen sub-series: Aid Society of Landsleyt from Ostrowiec; American ORT Foundation; Beth Yehudah Center; Canadian Federation for Polish Jews; Canadian Jewish Congress; Committee of Ostrowtzer Jews in Szczecin; Committee of Ostrowtzers in Italy; District Committee, Ostrowiec; Eargun Yozei Ostrowceh in Palestine; Jewish Immigrant Aid Society of Canada; Ostrovtzer Aid Committee in Costa Rica; Ostrovtzer Aid Society Michigan; Ostrovtzer Friendship Association; Ostrowiec Aid Society of Chicago; Ostrowiec Mutual Aid Committee in Paris; Ostrowtzer Committee in Munich; Ostrowtzer Relief Committee Los Angeles; and Ostrowtzer Relief Committee New York.
- Arrangement
- The archivist imposed an alphabetical order on the sub-series within the series.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Cowan family fonds
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 102
- File
- 21
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1972-1979
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of a membership card for Saul Cowan for the Council of Canadians, correspondence from the North York Chorus and John Oostrom, MP for Willowdale, the March 1989 edition of "The Ploughshares Monitor", and a book review of "Passages" by Gail Sheeny written by Saul Cowan and presented at several senior citizens gatherings.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- United Jewish Relief Agencies, Toronto (UJRA) series
- Restitution Claims Committee sub-series
- Level
- Sub-series
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 4-10
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1953-1955
- Physical Description
- 3 folders of textual material
- Admin History/Bio
- The Committee on Restitution Claims, established around 1951, was originally called the Committee on Indemnification Claims. The committee assisted refugees who were applying for compensation from Germany for losses suffered under the Nazis. Germany passed the BEG (Federal Indemnification Law) in 1949, after which thousands of claims were made in the succeeding years. The UJRA committee was intended to be a temporary programme continuing until its services were no longer required; it worked with the United Restitution Organization (URO), an international body based in Germany and funded in Canada by Canadian Jewish Congress. URO work on behalf of Canadian survivors continues to this day in Toronto, now independent from Congress.
- Scope and Content
- Sub-series consists of minutes of the Committee on Restitution Claims from 1953 to 1955. One set of minutes, from June 1955, is from the Ad hoc Committee considering Problems with Restitutions Office Work in Toronto. The records are arranged in chronological order.
- Notes
- Related material note: The case files of Toronto's United Restitution Organization office were transferred to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C in 1990. That institution has approximately 100 boxes of closed case files from the Toronto URO office. In 2007, the remaining URO case files at the Toronto office were transferred to the Ontario Jewish Archives (accession 2007-3-5).
- This sub-series was formerly RG 210C.
- Related Material
- Related records may be found in the subject files on Indemnification, in subseries 3 of this series.
- Related records may be found in accession 2007-3-5, the United Restitution Organization (URO), Toronto Office.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- General office subject and correspondence files series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 2
- File
- 1326
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1949 - 1950
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of financial reports and correspondence from the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds; the Windsor Jewish Community Council; the United Jewish Welfare Fund of Toronto (UJWFT)and the Rabbinical College of Canada regarding fundraising and budgets.
- Access Restriction
- Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
- Accession Number
- 2005-2-2
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region fonds
- General office subject and correspondence files series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 17
- Series
- 2
- File
- 1330
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1937 - 1943
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of financial records and auditors reports for the CJC Central Division; the Central Division Canadian Jewish Committee for Refugees; and the United Jewish Relief Conference, for the financial years of 1937 through to 1943.
- Access Restriction
- Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
- Accession Number
- 2005-2-2
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
- Annual Campaign series
- General Campaign records sub-series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 67
- Series
- 17-2
- File
- 14
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1960, 1963
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of 1960 and 1963 UJWF reports about the need for Toronto's Jewish community participation in the fundraising efforts of the United Appeal of Greater Toronto.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Julius P. Katz fonds
- Mizrachi series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 55
- Series
- 1
- File
- 69
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1940-1941
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- This file consists of letters issuing official receipts to the Mizrachi Organization for payment of dues and tree purchases.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Zionist Organization of Canada fonds
- Toronto Zionist Council sous-fonds
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 28-2
- File
- 11
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1962-1969
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- The file consists of correspondence, memoranda and agandas.
- Name Access
- George Liban; Mark Zimmerman; Yehuda Noy; Toronto Young Judea
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
- Coordinating Committee series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 67
- Series
- 15
- File
- 1
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1961-1962
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of correspondence, reports and copies of minutes of meetings of the Coordinating Committee.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
- Coordinating Committee series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 67
- Series
- 15
- File
- 2
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1963
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of correspondence, reports and copies of minutes of meetings of the Coordinating Committee.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
- Coordinating Committee series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 67
- Series
- 15
- File
- 3
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1963
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of correspondence, reports and copies of minutes of meetings of the Coordinating Committee.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee fonds
- Letters from organizations series
- Ostrowiec Aid Society of Chicago sub-series
- Letter from Laib Piltz to Max Hartstone and the United T.K. of Ostrovtzer Organizations file
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 148
- Series
- 2-14
- File
- 11
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 13 Dec. 1946
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Admin History/Bio
- Laib Piltz was likely from Ostrowiec, Poland. He immigrated to Toronto in 1911 and, in 1912, helped to found the Yiddish National Radical School. He lived in New York for a period, where he served as the secretary of the NYST organization. He then moved to Youngstown, Ohio, where he took on the role of secretary for the Poale Zion organization and the National World Union Youngstown branch. Subsequently, he moved to Chicago, where he held the position of secretary for the Ostrowiec Aid Society in the mid-1940s. He had a wife, Rachel, and two daughters.
- Scope and Content
- File consists of a letter from Laib Piltz, secretary of the Ostrowiec Aid Society of Chicago, to Max Hartstone and the United T.K. of Ostrovtzer Organizations, dated 13 December 1946. In this letter, Laib asks for advise on purchasing Yiddish typewriters, presenting two options. He mentions a change in the approach to their journal, considering advertisements and, printing in Yiddish. He expresses frustration with the commercial aspect of fundraising and mentions his plan to read some poems privately. Envelope is included. File also contains a typed translation.
- Repro Restriction
- Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the archives to obtain permission prior to use.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Philip Givens fonds
- Jewish communal series
- Other Jewish organizations sub-series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 51
- Series
- 9-8
- File
- 1
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1973-1984
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Scope and Content
- File consists of speeches and correspondence documenting Phil Givens’ interactions with a wide range of Jewish organizations both in Canada and abroad.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions