United China Relief records, 1941 -- 1949

Summary Information

Abstract

United China Relief, known from 1946 as United Service to China, was a cooperative association of aid agencies active in China during the Second World War and the immediate post-war era. The collection includes transcripts, reports, meeting minutes, and correspondence.

At a Glance

Arrangement

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in one series in rough chronological order.

• United China Relief records, 1941 -- 1949

Description

Scope and Contents

This collection contains transcripts, reports, meeting minutes, and correspondence related to United China Relief, including transcripts from a series of fifteen radio broadcasts called "Speaking of China", as well as documentation of the organization's work with refugees, children, soldiers, medical aid, education, and industry.

• United China Relief records, 1941 -- 1949

  This series contains transcripts, reports, meeting minutes, and correspondence related to United China Relief, including transcripts from a series of fifteen radio broadcasts called "Speaking of China", as well as documentation of the organization's work with refugees, children, soldiers, medical aid, education, and industry.

Burke Library record group:

Missionary Research Library Archives: MRL6, China

Using the Collection

Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Onsite storage.

Conditions Governing Use

Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.

Preferred Citation

Item description, MRL 6: United China Relief records, 1941 - 1949, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Related Materials

MC135 United Service to China Records, 1934-1967, bulk 1941/1950. Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

MssCol 3078 United China Relief Records, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Formerly part of the independent Missionary Research Library (MRL), these records were accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976. The transcripts in folders 2-5 were donated by Mrs. E.M. Williams of Topeka, Kansas at an unknown date between 1949 and 1976.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary

Processing Information

Transcripts cataloged by Lynn A. Grove on 1988-07-21. Metal clips and staples were removed from materials and folded items were flattened. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Acidic items were separated from one another by interleaving with acid-free paper as needed. The finding aid was created by Gregory Adam Scott in 2010, updated by Brigette Kamsler in 2012 with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2021.

Revision Description

2021-07-08 PDF converted to EAD and description updated by Leah Edelman.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Subject

History / Biographical Note

Biographical / Historical

United China Relief (UCR) was an important focal point of the American partnership with Nationalist Chinese forces in the war in East Asia. It was founded in 1941 as a cooperative organization of American relief agencies operating in China, and within the first year was able to generate more total funds raised than the agencies had previously been able to raise separately. In 1943 it joined forces with the National War Fund, which had committees based in major cities in the United States, and by the end of the war in 1945 had switched its focus to more long-term rebuilding projects in China. It was partly this shift in mission that prompted the organization to change its name to United Service to China (USC) in mid-1946. Its post-war efforts to raise money for China were not, however, very successful, and at the end of 1950 the decision was made to cease operations, and to put all remaining funds into a reserve account. By 1965 it was clear that the organization was defunct and it was dissolved at the end of the next year, with the remaining funds being distributed to cooperating agencies. In total, UCR/USC raised over $52 million for China aid. Active members of the organization who routinely attended executive committee meetings held in New York City included Henry P. Van Dusen, Cornelius V. Starr and Henry R. Luce.