New York State War Council Office of Civilian Mobilization Defense Programs Coordination Correspondence

Arranged by broad topic headings and therein alphabetical by subject.

Because World War II caused manpower shortages in all parts of society, and because the continuation of volunteer services was crucial to the overall well-being of New York, the War Council authorized the Office of Civilian Mobilization (OCM) to maintain social programs by coordinating the recruitment of volunteers, to assist extant organizations with their programs, and to initiate programs needed for the war's home front efforts. To this end, the OCM consulted the organizations already involved in issues such as child care, recreation, nutrition, health care, agriculture, and education.

This series contains correspondence created during cooperative efforts between the OCM, state and federal agencies, and private organizations in an effort to coordinate, publicize, and implement programs designed to involve the citizens of New York State in home front activities. Correspondence between the OCM and state agencies relates to program development and implementation and volunteer recruitment.

The OCM and agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, State Committee on Child Care, Department of Education, Food Commission, Farm Manpower Service, and Department of Health concentrated on developing plans and priorities, solving problems, assessing needs in the localities, and assisting local war councils with program implementation.

Correspondence with federal agencies is of a more informational nature. Recommendations for operating procedures to ensure cooperative relationships, promotion of the federal agencies' programs, and use of volunteers in the programs are discussed. Included are copies of publications, summaries of conferences held in Washington, D.C., and copies of talks given at national conferences from agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Price Administration, Office of Defense Health and Welfare Services of the Federal Security Agency, and the Defense Office of Transportation.

In addition to gathering information within New York State, the OCM exchanged publications and reports with other states. This series contains many of these reports addressing the effects of war on welfare services and operation of the other states' defense councils. Requests from libraries in other states to the OCM for publications are numerous.

Colleges also conducted workshops and other programs designed to increase awareness about defense issues. A major participant and source of expert advice was the Department of Home Economics at Cornell University. Cornell distributed information about food conservation, organized nutrition committees in counties and cities, and promoted these efforts by directing the home demonstration agents program. The College of Agriculture at Cornell cooperated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Extension Service to create a report series that addressed issues such as farm labor, marketing, and farm machinery. Vassar College became involved in community planning and hosted the Civilian Training Institute for Family and Child Care Services in War Time. In addition to correspondence, the schools also sent informational reports and newsletters to the OCM produced as a result of their efforts.

The OCM coordinated its actions with private organizations to reduce confusion about who was responsible for program administration. Placing the OCM in charge of recruiting volunteers to participate in the organizations' activities created a workable compromise. The series contains correspondence between the OCM and such organizations as Community Chests and Councils, Council of Social Agencies, Girl Scouts, State Charities Aid Association, and the United Service Organization.

In an effort to consolidate volunteer recruitment within New York State, the OCM was given full responsibility for recruiting for itself as well as for the Office of Civilian Protection (OCP) and for compiling OCP progress reports from the counties. Much of the correspondence between the OCM and OCP relates to coordinating cooperative efforts. Procedures for the OCP programs such as air raids, artificial lighting in dimout areas, use of air raid shelters, and operation of control centers and report centers are also included.

The OCM also corresponded with the federal Office of Civilian Defense (OCD) offices in New York City and Washington. The OCD in New York City was the central location for the Second Civilian Defense region. It served as a liaison between the Washington OCD and the state OCP in an effort to promote federal defense programs through exchange of publications and organizational plans. The OCD in Washington acted as a liaison with federal agencies to coordinate programs which would then be distributed to the states and implemented in the counties where they would be best utilized. This office encouraged central leadership, so much of the correspondence addresses procedures, unified action and planning, and gathering and disseminating information from all states.

This series was originally accessioned as boxes 141, 142, 146-149, and 151-153 of old collection #77, accession -71.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.