The Near East Relief Digital Museum commemorates America’s historic response to the Armenian, Assyrian, and Anatolian Greek Genocide by preserving, reconstructing, and sharing the rich history of the relief effort.
The Near East Foundation’s institutional records are housed at the Rockefeller Archive Center in Tarrytown, NY. Our collection consists of documents and images from 1915 to the late 1990s. The bulk of our materials relate to NEF’s work from the 1940s – 1980s. However, there are several boxes of materials from the Near East Relief era. These include photographs, documents, letters, drawings, scrapbooks, and assorted publications. Some of the materials are extremely fragile, and their use is at the discretion of the archivists. The collection has not yet been arranged by date or subject matter. The NEF collection is open to researchers by appointment.
Our records contain very little information on the Armenian, Assyrian, and Anatolian Greek Genocide itself. While that event gave rise to the founding of our organization, Near East Relief focused on rescue, rehabilitation, and development in the aftermath of the Genocide.
We have almost no information on individual children. We do not have lists of names of children that lived in specific orphanages. However, the archives provide an excellent overview of Near East Relief’s work and are always of great interest to family historians and researchers.
Do you have a story to share about a relief worker or a survivor whose life was touched by Near East Relief? Feel free to share a brief essay written by a family member, or by you and about a family member. We also welcome your family’s photos and documents related to Near East Relief’s work.
Please note that we do not accept general opinion pieces or essays with copyright restrictions.
Your support allows NEF to share this important history with the world.
You can donate online or by mail:
Near East Foundation
110 W. Fayette St., Suite 710
Syracuse, NY 13202
The Near East Relief Historical Society is grateful to the following individuals and businesses for their support during the formative period of July 2014 – June 2015.
The Near East Foundation is always happy to answer your questions about the Near East Relief Digital Museum.
Beginning in the mid-1920s, the Near East Relief leadership made a conscious shift from emergency relief to sustainable long-term development projects. The organization changed its name to the Near East Foundation (NEF) in 1930 to reflect this expanded mission. The Foundation’s first project helped young adults in Greece to transition from the orphanage system to careers in agriculture. NEF has maintained a presence in the Middle East and North Africa since its inception. To learn more about NEF’s mission and current projects, please visit the NEF website.
