The Hilfsfond, or Relief Fund, of Philadelphia, was a German-American charity for civilian war relief that was founded on 5 August 1914, just after the start of the First World War, and remained in existence until 1925. The Hilfsfond initially aimed to assist widows and orphans of German and Austrian-Hungarian soldiers killed in the war. After the entrance of the United States into the war, it focused on aid to prisoners of war interned in the United States and Canada; and in the postwar period it provided humanitarian relief in Germany, with special attention to the plight of children. During World War I, the Hilfsfond had close ties to the National German-American Alliance. Some of its leaders were also active members of the German Society of Pennsylvania. In the 1920s the Hilfsfond worked in cooperation with the American Friends Service Committee. The records include minute books, from the founding until April 1925; treasurer's records, 1914 to 1916; and ephemera such as appeal...(see more)
Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]