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Among the most dramatic consequences of war, revolution and political and social upheaval are population displacement and famine. The Hoover Institution is a truly exceptional place for documenting and studying the causes and consequences of forced migrations, internal and external displacement, exile and émigré politics and matters associated with aid and relief to refugees. Beginning with the displacement and hunger caused by the German invasion of Belgium in the First World War and aid to famine-stricken populations in Soviet Russia, East Europe and the Near East, the Hoover Institution has sought to document the activities of aid agencies such as the Commission for the Relief of Belgium, the American Relief Administration, the International Rescue Committee, the Aid Refugee Chinese Intellectuals organization, the American Emergency Committee for Tibetan Refugees and other societies and individuals involved in aid to help better understand the causes and results of such monumental human tragedies. Numerous collections of individuals and organizations at the receiving end of aid, those caught up in the experience of exile and displacement, provide depth and breadth to this topic.
Organization for provision of relief to Belgium during World War I
Organization for provision of relief to Belgium during World War II
US relief agency operating in Europe, 1919–23
US relief agency operating in Soviet Union, 1921–23
International organization for aid to refugees
US relief organization
US relief organization
International organization for World War II relief
US organization during World War II
US relief organization
The Mississippi River is expected to crest at 57.5 feet at Vicksburg today, a foot above the record 1927 “Great Mississippi Flood.” In April that year the river broke through the levees, submerging vast expanses of farmland and destroying the homes of more than one million people.
With the tragic earthquakes in Haiti and Chile earlier this year, and the recent floods in Pakistan, we are reminded once again of the primacy of food in relief operations for people in distress, whether suffering from natural or man-made catastrophes.
The Big Show in Bololand: The American Relief Expedition to Soviet Russia in the Famine of 1921, written by Hoover Research Fellow Bertrand Patenaude, was named by the Hoover Institution the winner of its 2003 Uncommon Book Award.
The Big Show in Bololand: The American Relief Expedition to Soviet Russia in the Famine of 1921, written by Hoover Research Fellow Bertrand Patenaude, was named co-winner of the 2003 Marshall Shulman Book Prize.
Gibson wrote this daily journal when he accompanied Herbert Hoover around the world on the so-called food mission to assess needs and coordinate efforts in alleviating the famine caused by severe droughts and the devastation wrought by World War II.
The American National Red Cross (ARC) records document another facet of the World War I relief work that is the foundation of the Hoover Institution Archives collection.
