PART III: U.S.
SECTION
Series A,4, Committees & Conferences, 1920-1959
Appendix B: History of C.O. & Refugee Committees
The C.O. Committee was set up in
1939 by the WILPF in Philadelphia, with Grace Rhoads of Moorestown
(NJ) as Chair. She also served on the C.O. Committee of the AFSC
Peace Section that was established in Oct. 1939. At first both
committees attempted to find sponsors who would give stature to their
work. Lawyers and others were drawn on as consultants who could
counsel C.O.s in re: the draft etc. Pamphlets were written, with
titles such as "What About the Conscientious Objector," "Help
Wanted," and "Why They Cannot Go to War." In 1943, the Philadelphia
Council for C.O.s was formed, so from that time the WILPF C.O.
Committee concentrated on educating its membership about
conscientious objection/objectors.
Grace Rhoads served as secretary of a special WILPF subcommittee on
women C.O.s, set up to advise on alternative service in case women
were drafted. She was also secretary of the Committee to Oppose
Conscription of Women, headed by K. Pierce and Mrs. Allen Knight
Chalmers, with Mildred Scott Olmsted as its director. Rhoads
represented WILPF on the National Council for C.O.s, and NSBRO's
Council on Civilian Service and its Consultative Council.
The material of the C.O. Committee was donated to the SCPC by Rhoads
in 1952, before she left to live in Paraguay.
The WILPF Refugee Committee was organized in late 1938 to assist
refugees in Europe who needed sponsors and financial aid. State and
Branch refugee committees soon sprang up as well. In the fall of
1939, Eva Wiegelmesser, herself a recent refugee from Germany, was
appointed secretary of the National committee. She made reports to
the National Board annually and to the Executive Committee three
times yearly. She started a series of newsletters that ran from
1940-1943. These were sent to the National Board and the State
Branches. Her work concluded in Sept. 1942, but the committee's
records run until 1943. Emily Greene Balch was very active on the
committee.
The material of the Refugee Committee was received in 1952 from Eva
Wiegelmesser.
See also Paper Walls: America and the Refugee Crisis,
1938-1941 by David S. Wyman.
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