The Jewish Refugee Committee

The Jewish Refugee Committee was founded in 1933. It was one of the organisations that worked with the Central British Fund to care for the Boys in the UK.

The Boys were teenage and child-Holocaust survivors, who were brought to the UK after the war for rest and rehabilitation.

The Jewish Refugee Committee (JRC) was founded as a direct response to the Nazi’s rise to power and the urgent need to support Jews fleeing persecution in Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Germany. It was based in London and worked closely with the Central British Fund (CBF) and other organisations.

Key figures involved included Otto Schiff, who served as Chairman, and Leonard Montefiore. Other notable contributors included Norman Bentwich and Lionel de Rothschild. The JRC focused on providing housing, legal advice, employment help, and financial aid to newly arrived refugees. It also ran advisory services and acted as a liaison with British government departments, helping with visas, work permits, and citizenship matters.

The JRC played a critical role during the Kindertransport (1938–1939), assisting with the placement and welfare of the approximately 10,000 children who arrived in the UK. After the war, the committee continued to assist displaced persons and Holocaust survivors, including the Boys. The JRC helped arrange the Boys’ placements in hostels and supported with rehabilitation and welfare.

The Committee remained active into the 1950s, gradually slowing down its operations as the refugee crisis abated.