American Relief Administration
Encyclopedia
American Relief Administration was an American
relief
mission to Europe
and later Soviet Russia after World War I
. Herbert Hoover
, future president of the United States, was the program director.
The ARA's immediate predecessor was the United States Food Administration
, also headed by Hoover. He and some of his collaborators had already gained useful experience by running the Committee for Relief in Belgium
which fed seven million Belgians and two million northern French
during World War I.
ARA was formed by US Congress on 24 February 1919 with the budget of 100 million dollars. Its budget was boosted by private donations, which resulted in another 100 million dollars. In the immediate aftermath of the war, the ARA delivered more than four million tons of relief supplies to 23 war-torn European countries. ARA ended its operations outside Russia in 1922; in Russia it operated till 1923.
. Much of its resources were helping Polish children. ARA however has been criticized by some for aiding Polish soldiers during the Polish-Soviet War
. Polish leader Józef Piłsudski has written a note of personal thanks to Hoover; one of the streets in Warsaw
has been named after him; he also received honorary degrees from the Jagiellonian University
, Warsaw University and Lviv University
, among other honors (such as several honorary citizenships of various Polish towns). A monument dedicated to American helpers has been constructed in Warsaw.
Colonel Alvin B. Barber headed the group from 1919 to 1922.
broke out, the ARA's director in Europe, Walter Lyman Brown, began negotiating with Soviet deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Maxim Litvinov
, in Riga
, Latvia
. An agreement was reached on August 21, 1921 and an additional implementation agreement was signed by Brown and People's Commisar for Foreign Trade Leonid Krasin
on December 30, 1921. The U.S. Congress appropriated $20,000,000 for relief under the Russian Famine Relief Act
of late 1921.
At its peak, the ARA employed 300 Americans, more than 120,000 Russians and fed 10.5 million people daily. Its Russian operations were headed by Col. William N. Haskell. The Medical Division of the ARA functioned from November 1921 to June 1923 and helped overcome the typhus
epidemic then ravaging Russia. The ARA's famine relief operations ran in parallel with much smaller Mennonite
and Quaker famine relief operations in Russia.
The ARA's operations in Russia were shut down on June 15, 1923, after it was discovered that Russia renewed the export of grain."
People
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
relief
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
mission to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and later Soviet Russia after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
, future president of the United States, was the program director.
The ARA's immediate predecessor was the United States Food Administration
United States Food Administration
During the United States participation in World War I the U. S. Food Administration was the responsible agency for the administration of the allies' food reserves. One of its important tasks was the stabilization of the price of wheat on the U. S. market. It was established by of August 10, 1917...
, also headed by Hoover. He and some of his collaborators had already gained useful experience by running the Committee for Relief in Belgium
Committee for Relief in Belgium
The Commission for Relief in Belgium or C.R.B. − known also as just Belgian Relief − was an international organization that arranged for the supply of food to German-occupied Belgium and northern France during the First World War.Its leading figure was chairman Herbert Hoover .- Origins :When the...
which fed seven million Belgians and two million northern French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during World War I.
ARA was formed by US Congress on 24 February 1919 with the budget of 100 million dollars. Its budget was boosted by private donations, which resulted in another 100 million dollars. In the immediate aftermath of the war, the ARA delivered more than four million tons of relief supplies to 23 war-torn European countries. ARA ended its operations outside Russia in 1922; in Russia it operated till 1923.
ARA and Poland
About 20% of its resources were directed to the newly established Second Polish RepublicSecond Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. Much of its resources were helping Polish children. ARA however has been criticized by some for aiding Polish soldiers during the Polish-Soviet War
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
. Polish leader Józef Piłsudski has written a note of personal thanks to Hoover; one of the streets in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
has been named after him; he also received honorary degrees from the Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
, Warsaw University and Lviv University
Lviv University
The Lviv University or officially the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv is the oldest continuously operating university in Ukraine...
, among other honors (such as several honorary citizenships of various Polish towns). A monument dedicated to American helpers has been constructed in Warsaw.
Colonel Alvin B. Barber headed the group from 1919 to 1922.
ARA and Russian famine of 1921
When the Russian famine of 1921Russian famine of 1921
The Russian famine of 1921, also known as Povolzhye famine, which began in the early spring of that year, and lasted through 1922, was a severe famine that occurred in Bolshevik Russia...
broke out, the ARA's director in Europe, Walter Lyman Brown, began negotiating with Soviet deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Maxim Litvinov
Maxim Litvinov
Maxim Maximovich Litvinov was a Russian revolutionary and prominent Soviet diplomat.- Early life and first exile :...
, in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. An agreement was reached on August 21, 1921 and an additional implementation agreement was signed by Brown and People's Commisar for Foreign Trade Leonid Krasin
Leonid Krasin
Leonid Borisovich Krasin July 1870, Kurgan – November 24, 1926) was a Russian and Soviet Bolshevik politician and diplomat.-Early years:Krasin was born in Kurgan, near Tobol'sk in Siberia. His father, Boris Ivanovich Krasin was the local chief of police...
on December 30, 1921. The U.S. Congress appropriated $20,000,000 for relief under the Russian Famine Relief Act
Russian Famine Relief Act
The Russian Famine Relief Act of 1921 authorized the expenditure of $20,000,000 for the purchase of American foodstuffs to send to the Soviet Union, for relief of the Russian famine of 1921....
of late 1921.
At its peak, the ARA employed 300 Americans, more than 120,000 Russians and fed 10.5 million people daily. Its Russian operations were headed by Col. William N. Haskell. The Medical Division of the ARA functioned from November 1921 to June 1923 and helped overcome the typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
epidemic then ravaging Russia. The ARA's famine relief operations ran in parallel with much smaller Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
and Quaker famine relief operations in Russia.
The ARA's operations in Russia were shut down on June 15, 1923, after it was discovered that Russia renewed the export of grain."
External links
Additional reading
- A.C. Freeman, "Is Hoover Bringing Russia Food or Reaction?" New York Call Magazine, Aug. 7, 1921, pp. 1, 11.
- Bertrand M. Patenaude. The Big Show in Bololand. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2002.
- N.N.: "Vastness of Hoover’s Work Realized as He Returns," The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, September 14, 1919, pg. 47. - N.N.: "Bankers to Handle 'Food Draft' Sales," New York Times, January 22, 1920, pg. 27.
- N.N: "$8,000,000 Distributed In Food Drafts for Germany," New York Times, September 7, 1920, pg. 1.
- Frank M. Surface and Raymond L. Bland, American Food in the World War and Reconstruction Period. Operations of the Organizations Under the Direction of Herbert Hoover 1914 to 1924, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1931.
See also
- Marshall PlanMarshall PlanThe Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
- American Committee for Relief in the Near East
- The President's Economic Mission to Germany and AustriaThe President's Economic Mission to Germany and AustriaThe President's Economic Mission to Germany and Austria was a series of reports commissioned by US President Harry S. Truman and written by former US President Herbert Hoover....
- GARIOAGARIOAGovernment and Relief in Occupied Areas was a program under which the US after the 1945 end of World War II from 1946 onwards provided emergency aid to the occupied nations, Japan, Germany, Austria. The aid was predominantly in the form of food to alleviate starvation in the occupied...
- UNRRA
People
- James Stuart McKnight, worked with the agency