$8,269,247 Spent by J.D.C. Since War’s Outbreak

In the 14 months from the outbreak of the war on Sept. 1, 1939, to Oct.31, 1940, the Joint Distribution Committee has spent $8,269,247 in cash for a far-reaching program of relief and rehabilitation extending into more then 50 countries throughout the world, Executive Vice-Chairman Joseph C. Hyman stated today.

Relief work in the belligerent countries of Poland, Germany, France, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom called for the cash expenditure of $2,664,254, as reported to the State Department. An additional $2,222,602 was simultaneously expended in the same countries for programs of aid which the State Department does not classify as relief, such as emigration aid, vocational training and retraining, educational help, grants to religious-cultural institutions, etc.

The balance was used for aid to needy Jewish populations in such non-belligerent countries of Europe as Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Rumania, Lithuania and Yugoslavia, as well as in behalf of refugees in Latin America and the Far East. A large part of the balance is also accounted for by expenditures in the now belligerent countries before they became involved in the war. For example, several hundred thousand dollars went for refugee aid in Holland and Belgium between Sept. 1, 1939, and May 10, 1940, when they were invaded and thus assumed belligerent status, Hyman explained.

Touching upon the highlights of Jewish need in Europe today, Hyman said a minimum of 50,000 French, German, Belgian and Dutch refugees now in unoccupied France were in dire daily need. J.D.C. efforts to relieve the plight of these people, of whom 10,000 to 20,000 are interned, have cost $140,000 thus far. J.D.C. grants for aid to refugees in Lisbon have had to be successively increased until they now reach $10,000 monthly.

In Nazi-occupied Poland, the J.D.C. and its affiliated local committees are daily giving assistance to 250,000 Jewish men, women and children. A chain of 650 feeding stations, 200 hospitals, clinics, sanatoria and health stations and dozens of child care and welfare units spreading through 346 different localities, are the only means of life for Polish Jewry. During the first nine months of 1940 alone, over 11,500,000 zlotys were expended by the Polish offices of the J.D.C. in furtherance of these programs.

Meanwhile, the American Friends of a Jewish Palestine today reported $23,881 received between September, 1939, and October, 1940, $11,771 disbursed in expenses and $11,014 transmitted abroad. The statement pointed out that the State Department’s report on the organization covered only the period beginning May, 1940, when the American Friends registered with the department.