## Facts

- A coalition of charitable and social welfare organizations applied for judicial approval of a certificate of incorporation for German Jewish Children’s Aid, Inc., a New York not-for-profit entity.
- The proposed corporation aimed to assist German Jewish children facing persecution in Nazi Germany by facilitating their lawful entry into the United States and arranging their care, maintenance, and education after arrival.
- The record described worsening conditions for Jewish children in Germany, including social exclusion and restricted educational opportunity under Nazi racial ideology.
- The proceeding was a non-adversarial application in which the court was required to approve or disapprove incorporation under New York law.
- The application raised concerns about whether aiding foreign children, and assisting immigration-related efforts, fit New York’s definition of charitable purposes and whether such a corporation conflicted with public policy.

## Issues

1. Whether a corporation organized to bring persecuted foreign children to the United States and provide for their care and education serves a lawful “charitable” purpose under New York law.
2. Whether incorporating a New York charity directed at assisting victims of persecution abroad, and incidentally facilitating lawful immigration, is contrary to New York public policy or an improper intrusion into federal immigration or foreign affairs.

## Decision

- The court granted the application and approved issuance of the certificate of incorporation.
- The court held the stated objectives were charitable, including relief and welfare of children and advancement of education, notwithstanding that beneficiaries were non-citizens and originally located abroad.
- The court found no public-policy bar to incorporating a charity whose work responded to persecution in a foreign country.
- The court concluded the corporation would not usurp federal power because admission of aliens remained governed by federal law, and the charity’s role was limited to assistance consistent with those constraints.

## Legal Principles

- Charitable purposes under New York law include providing care, maintenance, and education for endangered or destitute children, even when intended beneficiaries are non-citizens.
- A New York charitable corporation may be formed to pursue humanitarian objectives with an international focus; charitable status is not limited to aid directed solely to residents of the state or the United States.
- Private charitable support that incidentally relates to immigration does not conflict with public policy when it operates within federal immigration requirements and does not claim authority to determine admissibility.

## Conclusion

The court approved incorporation of German Jewish Children’s Aid, Inc., concluding that rescuing and supporting persecuted German Jewish children through lawful entry and subsequent care and education in the United States is a valid charitable purpose and not inconsistent with New York public policy or federal authority.


In re German Jewish Children’s Aid, Inc., 151 Misc. 834, 272 N.Y.S. 540 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cnty. 1934)