Luba Mizne in Warsaw to Samuel Finkelsztein at JDC office in New York: "I LIVE REQUIRE HELP"

As the war came to an end, four words embodied the spirit of hope among the survivors, as well as their enormous needs. Luba Mizne sent this poignant telegram to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) office in New York immediately after her liberation in Warsaw. JDC reopened its Warsaw office in July 1945. In the postwar period, JDC played a major role in Poland, shipping vital supplies to the needy, promoting economic activity, and supporting a network of schools, homes, hospitals, and cultural institutions. JDC marshaled its forces to meet a crisis of staggering proportions for world Jewry. Its vast relief and rehabilitation programs served hundreds of thousands of Holocaust survivors worldwide. Whether in Displaced Persons camps in Europe or forming the first waves of immigration to the new State of Israel and elsewhere, Jews knew that they could turn to “the Joint”.