Register of the Friends' War Victims' Relief Committee records
Finding aid prepared by Jessica Lemieux
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2008
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Friends' War Victims' Relief Committee records
Date (inclusive): 1914-1923
Collection Number: XX333
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
2 manuscript boxes
(0.8 Linear Feet)
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.
Creator:
Friends' War Victims' Relief Committee (London, England)
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Friends' War Victims' Relief Committee records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution
Library & Archives.
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.
Related Material
Emergency and War Victims Relief Committee publications, Hoover Institution Library
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1914-1918 -- Poland
World War, 1914-1918 -- Civilian relief
World War, 1914-1918 -- Austria
International relief
World War, 1914-1918 -- France
World War, 1914-1918 -- Germany
World War, 1914-1918 -- Hungary
Society of Friends
Austria-Hungary
1919-1921.
Physical Description: 0.2 Linear Feet
Scope and Contents 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 note
Arranged alphabetically by physical form.
box 1, folder 2
Descriptive accounts
1920
box 1, folder 3
Descriptive accounts
1921
box 1, folder 4
Descriptive accounts
undated
France
1914-1920.
Physical Description: 0.4 Linear Feet
Scope and Contents 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 note
Arranged alphabetically by physical form.
box 1, folder 7
Articles and descriptive accounts
1915-1919
box 1, folder 11
General reports
1914-1915
box 1, folder 13
General reports
1916-1918
box 2, folder 1
Agricultural reports
1915-1918
box 2, folder 2
Agricultural reports
1918-1919
box 2, folder 3
Building reports
1916-1918
box 2, folder 4
Manufacturing reports
1918
box 2, folder 5
Medical reports
1916-1918
Germany
1919-1923.
Physical Description: 0.1 Linear Feet
Scope and Contents 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 note
Arranged alphabetically by physical form.
box 2, folder 7
Descriptive accounts and reports
1919-1920
box 2, folder 8
Descriptive accounts and reports
1921-1923
box 2, folder 9
Descriptive accounts and reports
undated
Holland
1915-1918.
Physical Description: 0.02 Linear Feet
Scope and Contents note
Reports documenting conditions in Holland for Belgian refugees during the war. Describes camp organization and providing work
for the refugees.
Arrangement note
Arranged alphabetically by physical form.
Poland
1916-1923.
Physical Description: 0.08 Linear Feet
Scope and Contents 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 note
Arranged alphabetically by physical form.
box 2, folder 12
Descriptive accounts
1918-1923
box 2, folder 13
Descriptive accounts
undated
