Top of page

Photo, Print, Drawing Crowded Living Conditions for Jewish Refugees.

About this Item

Title

  • Crowded Living Conditions for Jewish Refugees.

Summary

  • This photograph shows a group of refugees, including young children and elderly people, sharing one room in a building in Friedrichstadt (present-day Jaunjelgava), Latvia. Friedrichstadt had been a shtetl in the Pale of Settlement. Prior to World War I, the Jewish population of the town was 3,200 out of a total population of 6,500; by the war's end it had dropped to 800 out of a total population of 2,000. The Joint Distribution Committee of American Funds for the Relief of Jewish War Sufferers (later the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, both names abbreviated as the JDC), a humanitarian relief organization, sent one of its inspectors to investigate conditions in Friedrichstadt in December 1920. His report noted that 90-95 percent of private homes had been destroyed. Residents who had fled during the war had begun to return home; these refugees had nowhere to live. The report describes "32 people huddled together with their baggage and all in a room, 15 feet long and 10 feet wide [4.57 meters by 3.05 meters]... the air was suffocating and heavy. . . . Two of the [children] were sick with scarlet fever, and one died on the very day when this investigation was made." The JDC was founded by American Jews in New York City to help destitute Jews in Europe and Palestine affected by World War I. The photograph is from the archives of the JDC, which contain documents, photographs, film, video, oral histories, and artifacts recording the work of the organization from World War I to the present. The JDC has operated as a global humanitarian organization in more than 90 countries since 1914.

Names

  • Joint Distribution Committee of the American Funds for Jewish War Sufferers Associated Name.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1920.

Headings

  • -  Latvia--Jaunjelgava--Jaunjelgava
  • -  1920
  • -  American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
  • -  Economic conditions
  • -  Housing
  • -  Jews
  • -  Refugees
  • -  War damage
  • -  World War, 1914-1918

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 photograph : black and white ; 5 x 7 inches.
  • -  Original resource at: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
  • -  Content in English.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • World War I

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021670910

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Joint Distribution Committee Of The American Funds For Jewish War Sufferers Associated Name. Crowded Living Conditions for Jewish Refugees. Latvia Jaunjelgava, 1920. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670910/.

APA citation style:

Joint Distribution Committee Of The American Funds For Jewish War Sufferers Associated Name. (1920) Crowded Living Conditions for Jewish Refugees. Latvia Jaunjelgava, 1920. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670910/.

MLA citation style:

Joint Distribution Committee Of The American Funds For Jewish War Sufferers Associated Name. Crowded Living Conditions for Jewish Refugees. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021670910/>.