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United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. China Office. records
XX288
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Title: United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. China Office records
Date (inclusive): 1943-1948
Collection Number: XX288
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
39 manuscript boxes
(16.3 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Reports, manuals, bulletins, correspondence, and administrative orders, relating to social and economic conditions in China,
and to United Nations relief activities in China
Creator:
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. China Office
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.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
[Identification of item], United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. China Office. Records, [Box no., Folder
no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
On November 9, 1943, the agreement establishing the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was signed
by 44 Allied Nations, including the United States, to provide supplies and services to areas under occupation by the Axis
Powers. The largest project undertaken by UNRRA was the China program which had a total estimated cost of $658.4 million dollars.
Approximately 72% of UNRRA's fund was contributed by the United States, or $474 million dollars for the China Program.
The China Office was opened in Shanghai at the end of 1944, and operated until the official termination of the office on December
31, 1947. Final work and responsibilities were finished by March, 1948. The four directors of the China Office from 1944 to
1948 were:
- Benjamin H. Kizer (Oct. 24, 1944 - May 15, 1946)
- J. Franklin Ray, Jr. (Acting director, May 16, 1946 - August 26, 1947)
- Major General Glen E. Edgerton (August 27, 1946 - May, 1947)
- Harlan Cleveland (May 1, 1947 - February 24, 1948).
In January, 1945 the Chinese National Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (CNRRA) was
created by the Nationalist Government, as a special agency to administer and coordinate
UNRRA operations in China. Prior to the breakdown in the interparty peace negotiations
between the Nationalists and Chinese Communists in 1946, the Chinese Communists established
the Communists Liberated Areas Relief Administration (CLARA) which distributed UNRRA
supplies delivered to Communist territories.
The 2nd Resolution on Policy of the First Session of the Council of the United Nations
Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, adopted in 1943, states the following:
That, in any area where relief and rehabilitation operations are being conducted through the employment, in whole or in part, of the Administration's resources, relief and rehabilitation shall be distributed or dispensed fairly on the basis of the relative needs of the population in the area, and without discrimination because of race, creed, or political belief.
The provinces of the North, which had been under the longest occupation by the Japanese,
were also the areas of Chinese Communist guerilla activity. After the Japanese surrender,
these territories fell under Chinese Communist control. Difficulties arose in the
distribution of aid due to the reality of civil war. The official history of the
Administration estimates that 2-3% (by weight) or 4-5% (by value) of all UNRRA supplies were
distributed to Communist-held territories.
The UNRRA program was conceived as a short-term program, but long-range goals to remove the
causes of necessity in war-devastated areas were also present. Food, medical supplies and
clothing were distributed as relief, and projects undertaken as part of industrial and
agricultural rehabilitation were of great importance for long-range economic
development.
The Recordsincluded in this collection were sent to the Hoover Institution by a U.S. Army
Intelligence officer named Pardee Lowe. Obtained from the Shanghai Office prior to its
closing, the Recordsdo not constitute the complete office file of the Administration. These
Recordsare located in the UN Archives in New York City and occupy 8,500 linear feet. The
most comprehensive file in the collection at the Hoover Institution relates to the
Agricultural Rehabilitation Division.
Sources: UNRRA:
The History of the United Nations Relief and
Rehabilitation Administration,
George Woodbridge (NY: Columbia U.P., 1950) 3 vol.
and
UNRRA: A Case Study in Financial Assistance for Economic
Development,
Irving Barnett, Ph.D. Thesis, Columbia University, 1955.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
China -- Social conditions
World War, 1939-1945 -- China
China -- Economic conditions -- 1912-1949
International relief
World War, 1939-1945 -- Civilian relief
Economic assistance
Reconstruction (1939-1951) -- China
United Nations
Chinese National Relief and Rehabilitation Administration