Writings, diaries, scrapbooks, drawings, printed matter, and photographs relating to Belgian-American relations during World War I, the work of the Commission for Relief in Belgium, and the writings of Brand Whitlock.

Brand Whitlock was an American author, politician, diplomat, and ambassador to Belgium from 1913 to 1922. After serving as mayor of Toledo, Ohio from 1906 to 1913, Whitlock was appointed ambassador to Belgium by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913. In 1914, Whitlock's diplomatic duties increased significantly when the outbreak of the First World War and subsequent German occupation of Belgium put him in charge of various relief efforts for Belgian citizens. Whitlock's efforts to ensure that food sent by the Committee for Relief in Belgium went directly to Belgian citizens and not German forces, as well as his frequent appeals to German military authorities on behalf of condemned prisoners in Belgium, earned him the nickname Le Ministre Protecteur. In addition to his diplomatic and political efforts, Whitlock published several novels, biographies, articles, and short essays.

9 manuscript boxes, 4 oversize boxes, 1 oversize folder (11.0 Linear Feet)

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

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.