OSE : A PROFESSIONAL JEWISH ASSOCIATION

OSE : A PROFESSIONAL JEWISH ASSOCIATION

visuel einstein4

One hundred years young, OSE is characterized by an increasingly dynamic development in its fields of action: health, education and social work.

The diversity of projects and their relevance to the needs of the most vulnerable groups show that this ongoing development is part of a demanding process that combines innovation with a strong sense of loyalty to the association’s history.

An important association in the medical, social and educational sectors in France, OSE holds dear its values of solidarity, humanism, professionalism and memory.

Jean-François Guthmann, President

Claude Kupfer, General manager

OSE has been enriched by the history of every child it has saved  

Wiesel

The Society for the Health of the Jewish Population (today Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants-OSE) was created in 1912 in Saint Petersburg (Russia). Its initial mission: to protect, feed and support Jewish children who were victims of poverty and persecution.

During the dark years of World War II in France, OSE turned into a Resistance organization. Its leaders, trainers and educators became rescuers, caretakers and heroes, hiding children under their responsibility behind false identities.

Once the War had ended, OSE faced the daunting task of accompanying to adulthood the children who had been orphaned and to take in others who had just been freed from concentration camps.

Years later, with the end of the War in North Africa, came waves of migrants, children and families, who needed help integrating into France.

In 1951, OSE was recognized as a “Non-Profit Organization for the Public Good”. Today, it is open to people of all backgrounds and has diversified its missions to accommodate different needs and sectors of society.

Based on its strong and unique experience in rescuing generations of uprooted children, OSE has developed more than ever before its commitment to children and to health issues.

The Organization also invests its efforts in the areas of handicap and dependency, as well as support to Holocaust survivors.

OSE’s fields of action (click in each field to read more) :

HEALTH 

MEMORY 

WORLDWIDE

All about OSE history is summed up in this document, published in 2012 when celebrating its 100th birthday (PDF) : CLICK HERE.

For a concise history of OSE throughout the 20th Century, you can also visit the Yivo Website (the Institute for Jewish Research) : http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/OZE.

Read Holocaust survivor Joe Swarcberg’s full speech, written on the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of the Buchenwald camp, on April 11th 2017.