1929–1941 HIAS Transit and Cuban Jewish Refugee Archive: The Moishe Perkowicz Case File

On offer is an extraordinary micro-archive documenting the transnational machinery of Jewish migration through Havana in the interwar and wartime years. Together, these five surviving pieces trace the path of one refugee family’s attempt to navigate the bureaucratic, philanthropic, and humanitarian networks that sustained Jewish life in exile. From Warsaw to Philadelphia and finally to Havana, the papers preserve the intricate record-keeping of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and the Centro Israelita de Cuba, offering a uniquely human lens on the mechanics of rescue.

At the heart of the lot stands a notarized Affidavit of Support sworn before a New York notary by Louis Gray on behalf of Moishe Perkowicz, a Polish Jew detained in Cuba in 1929. The affidavit, embossed with seal and official signatures, testifies that Gray would “receive and maintain the said Perkowicz so that he shall not become a public charge.” It represents the formal bond between American Jewish guarantors and European refugees—a type of legal-logistical document seldom preserved outside institutional archives.

A penciled slip lists Sura Perkowicz, Moishe Perkowicz, and Paula, dated 1929, and includes “Dr. Kancelaria 17, Warsaw” (likely a doctor’s office address, not a physician’s name), pointing to a professional contact who agreed to assist with the case.

Two Centro Israelita de Cuba acknowledgments bookend Perkowicz’s Havana case with unusual specificity. The first, dated July 26, 1937, states: “Check No. 104 for the amount of $50.00 (Fifty dollars), made payable to me, Moishe Perkowicz, as per order of the HIAS N.Y., July 21th, 1937.” It bears his autograph M. Perkowicz.

Completing the sequence is a HIAS Philadelphia letter of June 24, 1941, addressed to the Centro Israelita de Cuba.Typed on official letterhead, it requests confirmation of assistance provided to refugees still in transit through Havana, illustrating how North-American branches coordinated with Cuban affiliates during the global refugee crisis of World War II. Though not directly tied to the Perkowicz file, its inclusion situates the earlier case within the broader network of wartime Jewish rescue and correspondence across the Americas.

Taken together, these documents form a coherent case file that moves from sponsorship and notarization to on-the-ground relief and administrative closure. They capture the procedural texture of displacement—the receipts, affidavits, and appeals that collectively embody the lived reality of migration. As a historical unit, the archive bridges personal narrative and institutional history, illustrating how international Jewish philanthropy translated compassion into paperwork and passage.

The narrative completeness of the lot and the scarcity of parallel HIAS–Cuba materials are highly appealing and the dual signed receipts anchor the group as a personalized record; the 1929 affidavit and 1941 Philadelphia letter expand it into a longitudinal study of trans-hemispheric refugee coordination.

Condition and Language: Five documents, primarily in English and Spanish with Polish elements; typed and manuscript on mixed paper stocks. The affidavit bears embossed seal and notarial signatures, showing ++ age toning and prominent centre horizontal fold, some previously punched holes and other folds, bends and minor tears due to age and wear. Both receipts remain legibly signed. Moderate toning and fold marks consistent with archival age. The 1941 letter on HIAS Philadelphia letterhead shows minor edge wear and typical bends, folds and creases for its age; all items sound and legible. Overall Fair.

Sources:

• Bejarano, Margalit. The Jewish Community of Cuba: Memory and History. Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 2006.
• Avni, Haim. Latin America and the Establishment of Israel, 1945–1948. Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 1982.
• Katz, Jacob. The Jews of Cuba: Early Immigration and Communal Structures, 1906–1959. Havana: Centro Israelita de Cuba Archives.