United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee fonds*

Founded in Toronto, Canada in 1924, the Ostrowtzer Hilfs Farein was a society named after the town of Ostrowiec in Poland.

The society’s mission was to provide support to Ostrovtzers who had immigrated to Toronto, offering small loans, medical assistance, and a fostering a sense of community. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, the society extended its relief efforts to surviving Ostrovtzers around the globe and became known as the United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee.

Max Hartstone in his role as secretary of the committee saved  a collection of over three hundred letters sent to him. These letters document the efforts of the United Ostrowtzer Hilfs Committee, in collaboration with Ostrovtzer societies worldwide, to aid and support to Holocaust survivors from Ostrowiec. They also offer insight into the immediate, postwar experiences of Holocaust survivors.

The letters have been digitized by the Ontario Jewish Archives and can be found in the link here.

Source: Ontario Jewish Archives Website

(In archival science, a fonds is a group of documents that share the same origin and that have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an agency, individual, or organization.)