Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee

The Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee was established in 1941 to provide humanitarian relief to refugees fleeing the Spanish Civil War. Its headquarters operated from 192 Lexington Avenue in what is now the Koreatown area of Manhattan. The organization focused on helping fighters and civilians trapped in North Africa and Vichy France to escape and continue their opposition to Axis powers. Its fundraising arm, the Spanish Refugee Appeal, drew support from notable cultural figures like Albert Einstein, Dorothy Parker, and Leonard Bernstein.