New York State War Council Hospital Staff Draft Status Classification and Recruit Screening Files A4284

New York State War Council Hospital Staff Draft Status Classification and Recruit Screening Files

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Overview of the Records

Repository:

New York State Archives
New York State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230

Summary:

In conjunction with, and under the auspices of, the War Council, the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene assisted with various wartime mental health-related tasks during World War II; primarily, it conducted psychological screening of recruits for the Selective Service. This series contains records detailing the department's work in the screenings, in addition to correspondence and memoranda between staff relating to the department's efforts to prevent its hospital personnel from being drafted by classifying them as essential to operations.

Creator:

New York State War Council

Title:

Hospital staff draft status classification and recruit screening files

Quantity:

1 cubic foot

Inclusive Dates:

1941-1945

Series Number:

A4284

Arrangement

Arranged by broad topic; therein, hospital staff files are alphabetical by location of hospital.

Administrative History

In addition to its normal duties of promoting mental health in the State of New York, the Department of Mental Hygiene assisted the State with various wartime mental health-related tasks during World War II; primarily, it conducted psychological screening of recruits for the Selective Service. As with several other state agencies, the department's war work was conducted in conjunction with and under the auspices of the War Council, which coordinated all of New York's home front activities.

The Department of Mental Hygiene provided over 40% of the total psychiatric personnel at the military's induction stations who conducted brief questioning sessions with each recruit to determine if he was a possible psychological liability. From this session, a further background check would be completed on recruits suspected of having psychological problems, including consulting with other state agencies to ascertain if a recruit had ever been hospitalized for a previous mental condition. During the war over 450,000 men were examined, and 3,200 identified as probable liabilities.

Besides screening recruits, the department also transferred three institutions with a total of over 5,000 beds to the Army for use as general facilities. The department also undertook to educate the public to meet the strain of the war by providing lectures and radio talks to air-raid warden and defense groups. It also produced several well-received pamphlets on citizen morale.

Scope and Content Note

This series contains correspondence and memoranda between staff relating to the department's efforts to prevent its hospital personnel from being drafted by classifying them as essential to operations.

Also found are records detailing the department's work screening recruits for the Selective Service, which was part of its task in promoting mental health. These records discuss policy considerations such as confidentiality and screening criteria including serious delinquency, perverted sexuality, and a family history of serious mental conditions. The inability of certain institutions to safeguard confidential information is also frankly discussed.