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Descriptive Summary
Creator:	Marion E. Kenworthy (1891-1980)
Title:	Marion E. Kenworthy (1891-1980) Papers
Dates:	undated, 1938-1952
Abstract:	Marion E Kenworthy (1891-1980) was one of the founders of the Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children. Starting in 1938 they organized a lobbying effort to have the U.S. Congress allow for the migration of refugee children from Europe to the United States. This collection documents, through correspondence, depositions, meeting minutes, and more, the group’s activities. Of particular importance is the congressional testimony relating to the 1939 Wagner-Rogers bill.
Languages:	The collection is in English.
Quantity:	1.5 linear feet (3 manuscript boxes)
Identification:	P-511
Repository:	American Jewish Historical Society

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Biographical Note

Marion Edwena Kenworthy (1891-1980) was a psychiatrist who specialized in the field of children’s mental health. Kenworthy served as president of the American Psychoanalytic Association, the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, as well as the Academy of Child Psychiatry, and established the psychiatric clinic of the New York City Family Court with Justine Wise Polier and Agnes Inglis. Kenworthy and Sarah H, Swift brought the application of psychiatry into the curriculum of the New York School of Social Work where Kenworthy was a professor from 1921-1956. During WWII Kenworthy served as a doctor in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) and investigated psychiatric stress. Her legacy continues in the activities of the Marion E. Kenworthy-Sarah H. Swift Foundation in the care of children’s mental and emotional well-being. Notable for the collection here is that on December 18, 1938 she hosted in her home a meeting of individuals, horrified by the news of Kristallnacht, looking for ways to rescue children. Those who met established the Non-Sectarian Committee on German Refugee Children (NSCGRC) in 1938 with the goal of lobbying congress for the admission of refugee children to the United States.

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Scope and Content Note

The collection contains correspondence, newsletters, minutes of meetings, pamphlets, newspaper articles, editorials, congressional testimony, and various publications of the NSCGRC and its successor, the Non-Sectarian Foundation for Refugee Children (NSFRC).

The documents focus on the effort to pass the Wagner-Rogers bill of 1939, which would have allowed 20,000 German refugee children of all faiths to enter the United States over a two-year period. Of special interest are reports by various female social workers that traveled to Germany before World War II who documented the status of Jewish and "non-Aryan" children in that country. The materials provide an interesting indication of how much information Americans had about the situation in Germany prior to the outset of the war. Also valuable are the comments on the types of children refugee organizations thought would be the best to bring to the United States. Faced with restrictions on the number of children who could be admitted to the U.S., refugee organizations took pains to select those children whom they considered to be well adjusted and who would easily and quickly assimilate into American life. Among the correspondents in the collection are Stephen S. Wise, Senator Robert F. Wagner, Justine Wise Polier, Alf Landon, and Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Justine Wise Polier also appears in many of the minutes from various meetings.

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Arrangement

The papers are arranged alphabetically by folder title describing the contents and relationship between the NSCGRC and the correspondent.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers by permission of the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society, except items that are restricted due to their fragility.

Use Restrictions

Information concerning the literary rights may be obtained from the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society. Users must apply in writing for permission to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection. For more information contact:
American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16^th Street, New York, NY, 10011
email: reference@ajhs.org

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Related Material

The Marion E. Kenworthy Papers, 1915-1980 MS#8705 can be found at Columbia University Libraries Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

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Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); Marion E. Kenworthy (1891-1980) Papers ; P-511; box number; folder number; American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY.

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Acquisition Information

The Papers of Marion E. Kenworthy were donated by the Kenworthy-Swift Foundation in 1983.

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Access Points

• Subject Topics:

  • Children
  • Holocaust
  • Refugees

• Subject Names:

  • Fisher, Dorothy Canfield, 1879-1958
  • Kenworthy, Marion E. (Marion Edwena), 1891-1980
  • Meyer, Eugene, 1875-1959
  • Wise, Stephen Samuel, 1874-1949

• Subject Organizations:

  • Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children (U.S.)

• Document types:

  • Correspondence
  • Editorials
  • Meeting minutes
  • Newsletters
  • Newspaper articles
  • Pamphlets
  • Publications

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Container List

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Marion E. Kenworthy (1891-1980) Papers, undated, 1938-1952.
1.5 linear feet. Box 1, Folder 1 to Box 3, Folder 24.
Box	Folder	Title	Date
1	1	American Friends Service Committee - Refugee Facts	1938-1939
1	2	American Public Welfare Association - Refugee Services: The Refugee Problem and its Relationship to Public Social Work Agencies / Experiences with Refugee Services	1939 June 23
1	3	Council Against Intolerance in America - The Popes Condemn Anti-Semitism	undated
1	4	Diocese of Southern Ohio - Department of Social Service - Aid the German Refugees: A New Diocesian Project	1938
1	5	Friends of German Freedom - Inside Germany Reports	1939
1	6	League for Human Rights - Make the World a Refuge for Humanity	1938 December 12
1	7	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Child Welfare Group - Meeting Minutes	1939 January 4
1	8	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Child Welfare Group - Meeting Minutes	1939 January 8
1	9	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Child Welfare Group - Meeting Minutes	1939 January 12
1	10	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Child Welfare Group - Meeting Minutes	1939 January 14
1	11	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Child Welfare Group - Meeting Minutes	1939 January 24
1	12	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Child Welfare Group - Meeting Minutes	1939 February 17
1	13	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - American Committee for Christian-German Refugees	1939
1	14	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - American Friends Service Committee	1938-1938 and 1942
1	15	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Bruce Barton	1938
1	16	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - California Division - Winthrop Johnson	1939
1	17	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Dorothy Canfield Fisher	1939
1	18	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Grace Goodhue	1939
1	19	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Agnes Inglis	1939
1	20	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Jewish Children's Bureau School	1939
1	21	Non-Secatrian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Marion E Kenworthy	1939 February
1	22	Non-Secatrian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Marion E Kenworthy	1939 March-May
1	23	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Alf M Landon	1939
1	24	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Eugene Meyer	1939-1941
1	25	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Clarence E Pickett	1939-1940
1	26	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Justine Wise Polier	1939
1	27	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Edith Nourse Rogers (US Representative)	1939
1	28	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Marion K Sanders	1939
Box	Folder	Title	Date
2	1	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Ruth Solomons	1939
2	2	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Robert F Wagner (US Senator)	1939
2	3	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Louis S Weiss	1939 and 1941
2	4	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - John Hall Wheelock	1939
2	5	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Correspondence - Stephen S Wise	1938-1939
2	6	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Draft - Medical Care of Refugee Children in Reception Centers	undated
2	7	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Draft - Plan for the Care of German Refugee Children in the United States	undated
2	8	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Draft - The Situation Which Justifies the Wagner-Rogers Bill	1939
2	9	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Draft - Standards of Foster Care	undated
2	10	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1938 December 18
2	11	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1938 December 19
2	12	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 January 15
2	13	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 February 20
2	14	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 March 27
2	15	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 April 8
2	16	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 April 11
2	17	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 April 29
2	18	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 May 22
2	19	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 June 27
2	20	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 June 29
2	21	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 August 10
2	22	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 October 4
2	23	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 October 11
2	24	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 November 20
2	25	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 December 10
2	26	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1939 December 17
2	27	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Meeting Minutes	1940 March 7
2	28	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Memorandum in Support of Joint Resolution To Authorize the Admission into the United States of a Limited Number of German Refugee Children	undated
2	29	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Memorandum on German Children's Commitee	1939 February 15
2	30	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Newsletters	1939
2	31	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Press Release - Leading Representatives of all Faiths Head Organization to Give Sanctuary to German Refugee Children	1939 March 2
2	32	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Broadcasts	1939
2	33	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Congressional Poll	1939
2	34	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Correspondence - Clergy	1939
2	35	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Correspondence - Opposition - Robert R Reynolds (US Senator)	1939
2	36	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Correspondence - Press	1939
2	37	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Correspondence - US Congress	1939
2	38	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Letter Writing Campaign - Alabama	1939
2	39	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Letter Writing Campaign - Arizona	1939
2	40	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Letter Writing Campaign - Arkansas	1939
Box	Folder	Title	Date
3	1	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Letter Writing Campaign - California	1939
3	2	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Letter Writing Campaign - Colorado	1939
3	3	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Letter Writing Campaign - Connecticut	1939
3	4	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Letter Writing Campaign - Form Letters	1939
3	5	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Letter Writing Campaign - Kansas	1939
3	6	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Letter Writing Campaign - Massachusetts	1939
3	7	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Letter Writing Campaign - New York	1939
3	8	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Letter Writing Campaign - Pennsylvania	1939
3	9	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Letter Writing Campaign - Washington, DC	1939
3	10	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Memorandum on Resolutions and Congressional Hearing	1939
3	11	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Press Clippings	1939
3	12	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Press Clippings - California Division	1939
3	13	Non-Sectarian Committee for German Refugee Children - Wagner-Rogers Bill - Opposition	1939
3	14	Non-Sectarian Foundation for Refugee Children - Correspondence	1942-1944
3	15	Non-Sectarian Foundation for Refugee Children - Correspondence	1940 January 14
3	16	Non-Sectarian Foundation for Refugee Children - Correspondence	1940 March 17
3	17	Other Refugee Agencies	undated
3	18	Translation of the Nazi Order on The Germanization of Children from Polish Families and from former Polish Orphanages (1942)	1947
3	19	United States Committee for the Care of European Children, Inc. - British Children in the United States: A Report of Observations Made During a Visit in the Spring and Summer of 1943 to the British Children Evacuated to the United States of American Under the Auspices of the United States Committee for the Care of European Children	undated
3	20	United States Committee for the Care of European Children, Inc. - Correspondence	1942-1952
3	21	United States Committee for the Care of European Children, Inc. - Meeting Minutes	1940 July 17
3	22	United States Committee for the Care of European Children, Inc. - Report of the Executive Director to the Board of Directors	1948 May 3
3	23	United States Committee for the Care of European Children, Inc. - Report of the Executive Director to the Board of Directors	1952 May 14
3	24	United States Committee for the Care of European Children, Inc. - Report on Overseas Operation 1946-1952	1952 March

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