The American movement for Soviet Jewry was composed of a number of organizations, both Jewish and non-Jewish, and ranging from grassroots organizations to larger, internationally established nonprofits. Established Jewish organizations dedicated significant staff time and effort to the cause, and worked to coordinate with both regional and national grassroots organizations that quickly became instrumental in the fight for freedom. While tensions over methods and priorities would arise, coalition-building between the various organizations was critical to saving hundreds of thousands of Soviet Jewish lives. Narrated by Rebecca Naomi Jones and featuring Dr. Shaul Kelner, professor of Jewish Studies and sociology at Vanderbilt University and author of A Cold War Exodus: How American Activists Mobilized to Free Soviet Jews.

Image: from the Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry Collection (I-362), Box 118

The Wreckage is made possible by funding from the Ford Foundation.

Additional funding is provided through the American Jewish Education Program, generously supported by Sid and Ruth Lapidus.