About our Archives
For decades, World Jewish Relief’s Case Files were lost and forgotten, until a chance discovery revealed a treasure trove of documents detailing the extraordinary help the charity gave to Jews fleeing Nazi persecution. Now, we are returning these documents to families, revealing fascinating details of your family history.
We have the names of over 315,000 people, as well as records for the 65,000 refugees we supported in the 1930s and 40s. If you think we might have records for your family, enquire by using the form below.
FAQ's
Our archives include files for people who came from Germany and Austria, including many of the 10,000 children who came on the Kindertransport, as well as men who came to the Kitchener camp, 732 child survivors from concentration camps known as The Boys and countless others who arrived on domestic visas or under guarantors.
To preserve these important historical documents and protect information relevant to Jewish genealogy, our original records were digitised in 2015. This was done with the support of the Association of Jewish Refugees and the Otto Schiff Housing Association and has made it easier to reunite people with their Jewish ancestry records.
Our archives hold remarkable documents for many of the people that we helped. The files trace the help refugees received from World Jewish Relief in bringing individuals to Britain and assisting them to survive and establish their lives here. Sometimes only a registration card remains but they may also contain papers such as Case files, Birth certificates, Immigration papers, School records, Letters and Records of financial support provided by World Jewish Relief.
Yes – through our free ancestry search, we have reunited many families with the records of their ancestors.
The documents predominantly cover people who came from Germany and Austria. We are unlikely to have documents for Jewish refugees who arrived from Czechoslovakia, including the children rescued by Sir Nicholas Winton. However, please do make an enquiry as they may have registered with the CBF after they arrived.
