A $13,664,000 program for displaced persons and refugees entering the United States in 1948, the greatest ever conducted in this field, was outlined today by Irvin Bettmann, Sr. of St. Louis, chairman of the financial planning committee of United Service for New Americans, following a meeting of the committee here.
The U.S.N.A. program will provide for migration aid, economic assistance, resettlement and adjustment to American life of 2,000 or more survivors of Nazi persecution who are expected to enter the United States each month during 1948, Mr. Bettmann said. United Service has expanded during the past year and a half until it is now the second largest voluntary welfare agency operating in the United States, next to the American Red Cross, he revealed.
This growth, Mr. Bettmann explained, has been necessary in order to meet the needs of the newcomers who have been finding haven in this country. “The U.S. is giving haven this year to about 25,000 Jewish survivors of Nazi persecution, as well as to tens of thousands of Christians,” he pointed out. “This is more than are being admitted to any other country in the world during 1947.”
United Service, Mr. Bettman disclosed, now has the largest case load of people receiving economic aid, family services and guidance of any voluntary agency in the country. The various types of direct economic and rehabilitative assistance represent by far the largest part of the agency’s expenditures, accounting for $7,278,000 of the 1947 outlay of $9,000,000, and for $11,102,000 of the estimated expenditures for 1948, he said.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
