Register of the Friends' War Victims' Relief Committee records
Processed by Jessica Lemieux.
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, California 94305-6010
Phone: (650) 723-3563
Fax: (650) 725-3445
Email: archives@hoover.stanford.edu
© 2008
Hoover Institution Archives. All rights reserved.
Register of the Friends' War Victims' Relief Committee records
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, California
- Processed by:
- Jessica Lemieux
- Date Completed:
- 2009
- Encoded by:
- Machine-readable finding aid derived from MARC record by Jessica Lemieux.
© 2009 Hoover Institution Archives. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Title: Friends' War Victims' Relief Committee records
Dates: 1914-1923
Collection Number: XX333
Creator: Friends' War Victims' Relief Committee (London, England)
Collection Size:
2 manuscript boxes
(0.8 linear feet)
Repository:
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford, California 94305-6010
Abstract: Reports, correspondence, descriptive accounts, and meeting minutes relating to work conducted by the Friends' War Victims'
Relief Committee during World War I and in its aftermath. Includes documentation of Quaker relief and rebuilding efforts
in France, Germany, Austria, Holland, Hungary, and Poland.
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Archives
Languages:
English
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
Access to audiovisual materials requires at least two weeks advance notice. Audiovisual materials include sound recordings,
video recordings, and motion picture film. Hoover staff will determine whether use copies of the materials requested can be
made available. Some materials may not be accessible even with advance notice. Please contact the Hoover Institution Archives
for further information.
Publication Rights
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Archives.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Friends' War Victims' Relief Committee records, [Box number], Hoover Institution Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. To determine if this has occurred, find
the collection in Stanford University's online catalog Socrates at
http://library.stanford.edu/webcat . Materials have been added to the collection if the number of boxes listed in Socrates is larger than the number of boxes
listed in this finding aid.
Historical Note
The Friends' War Victims' Relief Committee was originally established by the London Yearly Meeting in 1870 to assist civilian
towns damaged by the Franco-Prussian War. This Quaker relief effort is particularly notable because it established a policy
of no discrimination between the sides in war. Prior to World War I, War Victims' Relief Committees were revived in Eastern
Europe (1876) and in the Balkans (1912). As World War I broke out, the War Victims' Relief Committee was reestablished to
undertake relief work and post-war reconstruction. The work began in the Marne district of France and expanded to include
the Netherlands, Russia, Germany, Austria, and Poland. Following America's entry into the war, the American Friends Service
Committee became involved with the War Victims' Relief Committee as well. The relief work of the Friends War Victims' Relief
Committee was cited by Gunnar Jahn, Chairman of the Nobel Committee, as he gave the presentation speech for the 1947 Nobel
Peace Prize to the Friends Service Council and the American Friends Service Committee.
Scope and Content Note
Reports, correspondence, descriptive accounts, and meeting minutes relating to work conducted by the Friends' War Victims'
Relief Committee during World War I and in its aftermath. Includes documentation of Quaker relief and rebuilding efforts
in France, Germany, Austria, Holland, Hungary, and Poland.
The Society of Friends War Victims Relief Committee worked throughout World War I to reduce the impact of the fighting on
the civilian population, and helped both the Allied and the Central powers recover after the war was over. The Committee's
work included providing food and clothing, establishing orphanages and hospitals, combating typhus and tuberculosis, encouraging
agriculture and manufacturing, improving prison conditions, and rebuilding destroyed homes. The collection is arranged alphabetically
by country receiving aid.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into 5 series: Austria-Hungary, 1919-1921; France, 1914-1920; Germany, 1919-1923; Holland, 1915-1918;
and Poland, 1916-1923. The original arrangement by country was maintained, reflecting the local nature of work done by the
War Victims' Relief Committee. The files describing work done in Holland were separated from those describing Austria-Hungary,
since the aid provided was different in each country. Within each series, folder titles and arrangement were imposed during
processing due to the absence of a useable original order.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Society of Friends.
Friends' Emergency and War Victims' Relief Committee (London, England).
War victims.
International relief.
World War, 1914-1918.
World War, 1914-1918--Civilian relief.
World War, 1914-1918--Austria.
World War, 1914-1918--France.
World War, 1914-1918--Germany.
World War, 1914-1918--Hungary.
World War, 1914-1918--Netherlands.
World War, 1914-1918--Poland.
Related Material
Emergency and War Victims Relief Committee publications, Hoover Institution Library
Box/Folder: 1 : 1-6
Austria-Hungary,
1919-1921.
Physical Description: (0.2 linear feet)
Scope and Content Note
Consists of correspondence, reports, and descriptive accounts of the conditions and relief work in Austria and Hungary after
World War I. In addition to information about agriculture, prisons, clothing distribution and hospitals, includes detailed
descriptions of the plight of hungry Viennese children and students.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by physical form.
Box/Folder: 1 : 1
Correspondence,
1919-1920
Box/Folder: 1 : 2
Descriptive accounts,
1920
Box/Folder: 1 : 3
Descriptive accounts,
1921
Box/Folder: 1 : 4
Descriptive accounts,
undated
Box/Folder: 1 : 7 - 2 : 5
France,
1914-1920.
Physical Description: (0.4 linear feet)
Scope and Content Note
Contains reports, correspondence, descriptive accounts, and meeting minutes. Comprises the bulk of the collection, including
detailed reports of work accomplished. Depicts civilian life in the Marne district and along the Western Front, and documents
medical, agricultural, manufacturing, and food assistance.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by physical form.
Box/Folder: 1 : 7
Articles and descriptive accounts,
1915-1919
Box/Folder: 1 : 8
Correspondence,
1914-1918
Box/Folder: 1 : 11
General reports,
1914-1915
Box/Folder: 1 : 13
General reports,
1916-1918
Box/Folder: 2 : 1
Agricultural reports,
1915-1918
Box/Folder: 2 : 2
Agricultural reports,
1918-1919
Box/Folder: 2 : 3
Building reports,
1916-1918
Box/Folder: 2 : 4
Manufacturing reports,
1918
Box/Folder: 2 : 5
Medical reports,
1916-1918
Box/Folder: 2 : 6-9
Germany,
1919-1923.
Physical Description: (0.1 linear feet)
Scope and Content Note
Includes correspondence, reports, and descriptive accounts of postwar conditions in Germany. Focuses on starvation conditions,
tuberculosis, and education. Discusses devaluation of the German currency.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by physical form.
Box/Folder: 2 : 6
Correspondence,
1919-1921
Box/Folder: 2 : 7
Descriptive accounts and reports,
1919-1920
Box/Folder: 2 : 8
Descriptive accounts and reports,
1921-1923
Box/Folder: 2 : 9
Descriptive accounts and reports,
undated
Box/Folder: 2 : 10
Holland,
1915-1918.
Physical Description: (0.02 linear feet)
Scope and Content Note
Reports documenting conditions in Holland for Belgian refugees during the war. Describes camp organization and providing work
for the refugees.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by physical form.
Box/Folder: 2 : 11-14
Poland,
1916-1923.
Physical Description: (0.08 linear feet)
Scope and Content Note
Correspondence, reports, and descriptive accounts discussing reconstructing agriculture and homes, food programs, and preventing
typhus. Also includes brief descriptions of relief work in East Galicia, West Ukraine, and Serbia.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by physical form.
Box/Folder: 2 : 11
Correspondence,
1919-1923
Box/Folder: 2 : 12
Descriptive accounts,
1918-1923
Box/Folder: 2 : 13
Descriptive accounts,
undated
