More than 50,000 Jewish refugees have been successfully settled in New York City since 1949, when the New York Association for New Americans was organized, it was reported here tonight at the annual board meeting of the agency, at which Richard W. Dammann was re-elected to a fourth term as president.
“With the possible exception of Israel,” Mr. Dammann said, “the New York Association has dealt with the actual integration of more human beings into the complex existence of civilization today than any other single agency in any land anywhere.” He added that more than 3,600 Jewish newcomers, two-thirds of whom were Hungarian, were aided by the agency in the first quarter of 1957.
In 1956, the agency provided housing, jobs, maintenance, medical and dental care and other essential needs for more than 5,000 refugees. The agency spent $680,950 for its services to newcomers in 1956 and will require $1,500,000 for an expanded program in 1957. The Association is a beneficiary agency of the United Jewish Appeal.
A report on the adjustment of Jewish Hungarian refugees settled in New York by the Association was made by Philip Soskis, executive director of the agency. With the exception of ten recently arrived Hungarians, all the families are settled in homes established and furnished by the agency, he reported. Nearly $100,000 has been spent in the last three months on furniture alone, he said. A spot-check of 85 families, including visits to homes and employers, revealed that adjustment has been exceptionally rapid.
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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.