More than 100,000 Jewish survivors–heads of families numbering 300,000 men, women and children–have achieved economic independence during the past five-and-a-half years with the aid of the Joint Distribution Committee, an official of the J.D.C. reported today.
Noel Aronovici, head of J.D.C.’s Reconstruction Department, told leaders of the relief agency that “since liberation, through the J.D.C.-financed loan funds, producers’ cooperatives and vocational training institutions, including those of ORT, one out of every five Jewish survivors in Europe on V-E Day has now become economically independent. These reconstruction projects have given thousands of Jews an opportunity to live useful, productive lives in Europe, the United States, Israel and elsewhere.”
Noting the difficulty of giving exact figures on the total of reconstruction aid because of the great number of projects in operation, Mr. Aronovici estimated that since V-E Day the J.D.C. has spent approximately $30,000,000 in this field alone. He said that despite the curtailment of the J.D.C.’s reconstruction activities in Europe, as increasing numbers of Jews left for new homes on other continents, seven J.D.C.-assisted credit cooperatives are still functioning, with between $2,800,000 and $3,000,000 in loans outstanding.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
