The AFCR stands for the American Fund for Czechoslovak Relief that was formed in 1948 by Dr. Jan Papanek, the Czechoslovakia Ambassador to the United Nations. The AFCR’s first chairman was Dr. James Shotwell of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The AFCR established working relationships with other relief organizations such as the International Refugee Organization and was recognized by the United States Department of Defense as a voluntary agency.
Staffed mostly by volunteers AFCR was active in a number of states and also had offices abroad. In late 1970's and 1980's the AFCR was involved also in resettlement work with refugees from Southeast Asia. NghiaSinh Intl, Inc. was one of the AFCR Resettlement Agencies. NghiaSinh Intl, Inc. has helped hundreds of refugees who entered the U.S. from Cambodia, Hong Kong, Laos, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
All of the AFCR refugee resettlement records are kept by the University of Minnesota (College of Liberal Arts' Immigration History Research Center).