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.