My name is mary cox and im pleased to be here. I just published my first book, ill do a little plug at the beginning this was released in the u. S. A few weeks ago and today lecture ill be giving a lot of what is inside this book and theres a lot more thats in there. What im going to try to do is tell you a story about what it was like to be in germany as a civilian during the First World War and the years following. As part of that story, ill be disgusting Herbert Hoover and some of the things he did to alleviate the suffrage in germany which had been a big enemy and ally of the United States. For me, one of the things i enjoyed so much of my research is seeing his compassion for people that were very unpopular and were ready to encourage others to feel that same compassion and safe ability in life. Heres the book im, going to start by telling you about something about the british blockade. Right when the war started the British Government started the introduction of goods and they have a strict legal meaning but this blockade and in many things between that included food and also fertilizer. Since then, over the past century the scholars have discussed this and they say a blockade had no impact whatsoever and other scholars who argue that it had a huge impact on germany and what i did was wanted to ask a question about what was the Administration Like in germany and this debate thats gone on began much earlier so this is a little uncomfortable starting with this propaganda for the crown of kinder and 14 and in this the nazis argue that england deliberately started with children in germany but this happened before the nazis and i have two examples of this in 1919 and october 1918 or some other losses and especially children and women would have the need to continue. Dr. George mentioned this blockade continue throughout the war and strengthened over time and was perfect route and continued in the period of resistance and versailles had been signed and been an extra eight months which went through another cold winter with the blockade. This is another quick example to show you as well that it extended beyond english language so this was the house of missouri and in the second edition and including photographs it made it uncomfortable but there are pages of photographs that informed children within the message and the message being before blockade now. Remember the blockade is still in force and if you look at whats going on is that there is a lot of statistics that are being thrown out and there is a claim that 763,000 people have died in germany because of the blockade and the statistic has changed throughout time and as the modern scholars rain from up to 1 million and as come to the blockade which are other things that have gone on so im going to do is tell you the story and ill show you some statistics and im also inclined to enable to show these statistics as an empirical so that a bit of an overview but just to explain why germany women sacrificed for their children and sacrifice for you succumbed to death. What i found which was so tragic was that they suffer first and hit a low point and they cant suffer anymore and then it goes away. You see the first few years of the war and children dont seem to be the first bad part of the war but it gets worse. Herbert hoover, im going to talk about him very quickly and george talked about him but the u. S. Especially after rejoining the war was able to increase Agricultural Production and many fold and particularly weak and poured pork. The United States sold a lot of that food to their allies and this support allowed the army to continue so its something that hoover made very popular and we can only seat certain things and it was increasing this up food and win the war ended we serve the United States and i dont want to exclude anyone and it was a herd huge surplus of food but as part of this its something i found but this idea of charity has spread throughout and it was important when it was a different idea of following the war where there are lots of people and it wasnt just what my book cover is but there was of morality and people said that we should feed our friends and then we should feed the neutrals and then if theres anything left over we could feed our enemies and this was published a lot in those places and hoover was able to change public opinion. He came up with slogans about food and came up with i dont have any german enemies after the age of six and weve never been at war with women and children but what this did is it helped children but a way to help people for many good reasons who had animosity towards germany to putting it in the eyes of children and people were more willing to dig into their pockets and donate. He faced a lot of political pressure in the United States began this and abroad and for the most part was able to come through. Heres another image and this is a picture that represents children and it was the children of tomorrow and what you say is it represents hunger and winter is wafting in the background and its a good winter. laughs across the ocean there is uncle sam and a bunch of Food Supplies and next to him is Herbert Hoover and is pointing towards europe looking to feed the europeans. This was published at the end of november 1918, theres this idea of hunger going over for europe and i dont know if you can see it but it represents hoover. Hes looking forward to get food and in regards to germany, there is this idea that the blockade in whose you get food first and did a number of Different Things and many things were published in newspapers and we dont need to worry about germany, theyll take care of itself and well get food from whatever they want and that sounds neutral but its exactly what they do not want to have happen. And would negotiate heavily but by Christmas Day and it was agreed upon in 1918 that the neutral countries would have food anymore that they wanted to in on Christmas Day he wrote to ivan morris who was the u. S. Ambassador to sweden in a telegram recess this is the first chance in nazi germany and we can ship food scandinavia and was also affected by this blockade and then this was totally rejected and canceled by marshal folk and you see it and many ways in those efforts and by the end of march in 1919, it was a certain amount who paid for that and once that the blockade was lifted, there were other people that realize that his responsibility was no longer there and recognize that they need to have food and another part of the story was there is a lot of german americans in the United States and received letters from loved ones and was understandably estimate a look at his draw lizzy and what whoever did was that he moved away from some of these eight groups that were german american based and when asked who had founded theservice committee in 1917 and the face of u. S. Aid to china. And they quakers who were passive us and quicker face was rather than frustrated or angry which made the cause much bigger than just the american groups were able to earn and raised much more money. The quakers in the face of aid and received a lot of the food from the other organizations are already in germany before hoover asked them to expand in early 19 or i should say in the fall of 1919. They were there in february and this is a photograph of the warehouse in hamburg with german children and the committee learned a lot but hoover perfected the best way to feed children and were in the north of france so they would select children based on these measurements and the teachers had taken during the war for the system and they use the institution that was listed and created new ones. Children who were founded in the shortest and the hungriest were teachers or doctors and were given food first. They were into four different groups in the Number One Group being healthy and the number two group met the children are little deprived and for severely deprived and were in the bottom two groups and children needed a meal every day of the week except for sunday for one month at which point they would be reassessed and they would feed the hungry is children first. The background with the children being the poorest would have the quickest recovery would be in part by this graph and in order to make that claim we have to know how much was actually being shift over and there are other factors besides the aid but in studying the archives there were 1 million meals being fed and the population of 70 Million People total and 1. 1 million children who said that was a lot. Any inequality increase was in terms of health and stature increase during the war and was after the war where this decreases because children were being hit the hardest and targeted and receive this testimonial. About recipes of food that was used in these times were a lot of milk, lard and it was a chocolate soup that was milk, rice, lard, sugar and cocoa and children loved it it. Had 700 can calories in it in a single serving and if youre hungry kid having fat and protein is just a wonderful thing. Children had to eat the meals in the centers themselves and couldnt take the food with them. This prevented food for being stolen or sharing with their family or friends. You had it all the food there and then they go on. I found hundreds of letters that children wrote and i just want to show different examples of the different tone that you get. The first one is from its not dated but it was in 1920 or 1921 and writes ive been sick for a few days and it came to me that i could write you sometime. I got a jacket that is very beautiful. Another thought that some day it will be such a beautiful jacket and this one is really cool for us and theres a lot of snow. Im sledding a lot we cant go sledding because im sick and they will not have our own home and we had coal if this one good quaker not just with this car and my friend died and we went to the red cross and had quakers a lot until there is a lot about it. To me this letter reads of authenticity. This child was able to see positive things in her life despite being a refugee and having her father dead and imagined was able to say how fun that was but that through a picture as a big smiling sun and the cherry tree and this ones actually smiling with a face on it and the mushroom is growing and shes expressing gratitude but there was a mixture of feelings and this one was from until the end munich in 1921. She writes, deal drove dear children of america i greet you today for the first time where you heard that germany suffers great need. I enjoyed the quicker food and from my heart im happy every day i have this meal. Its through a difficult face and were initiated with these children who have so much and are so rich. I know well but you can do this. If you could see such children and unfortunately we cant see you and you cant see as. I know well and you sort of reading the tone of this shes a little bit frustrated and we just felt that way. You see these while the americans as the cause for arranged a motion from the different responses. This is a drawing by raul which shows the children lined up outside and if you look in the door in the center theres two larger people who are checking the children to make sure they can come in and if a child was selected these quaker missionaries would go in and form feeding roofs and part of that feeding groups were businessmen but every Political Group would be leading these groups and join this group and would be signed by a number of different people. Its a valuable thing and will be checked before and we have to see sitting either food there. Its drawing evidence for the destruction of these missionaries. This is a drawing that like a lot. This is a boy and he sitting on top of a truck, inaudible chocolate for german children and its a little bowl with a spoon and its full of chocolate and he says to his friend in the corner, inaudible its from america and a taste wonderful. He says i believe you in this is from an 11 year old. I found evidence of this scale system that was going on. I issued a couple of drawings and these were some artists that were standing on a scale being measured and had poems and songs were children are writing about how they hope they can be small enough so they can be chosen to be given additional meals because at one point 1. 1 million children are fed daily. But so fastening for me is that i found the statistics through this Statistical Analysis and people are saying that these groups are hungrier and there were instructions of whom were they were to select for feeding and you have these products who a very different places and archives which was concluding that children are suffering a lot during the war and were looking to recover. Just a couple of more of these. This is before the german feeding and during the feeding after the beating you can see this little girl and her mouth is in open and she skinny and the boat is kind of small and shes getting a little bit plumper and her cheeks are making up retire face and neck to them is this blue pot that as quaker food. This is how they felt and the first one you can see a little guy and is not very strong and after the feeding we have waits down low which is jumping up and grabbing the bar and we have a couple of these to show you. We have the second one where hes got biceps and hes got this big grin on his face and hes trying to express because of this American Food that he sent was able to grow. In these letters bad different types of themes and one is measurement and one is considering themselves before the feeding and the other thing that came through for the whole series were children from the same school class obviously are depicting the same paintings and her painting the same thing. They create a different scriptures of the new testament which was related to giving to others. Already this very quickly from chapter 18. My little children, were indeed in untruth and the second corinthians nine were a cheerful giver and i was hungered and you gave me me and i was a stranger. Theyre expressing tanks and theyre also trying to encourage more of this to continue. It continued in germany past 1924 and theyre still getting food aid and the scriptures were meant to enlist sympathy among their members. I think many children may have had the scriptures if they were and germany which is part of the curriculum and it was much stronger and the literacy of new testament. Theres also religious that comes through and i was obviously from school and this was written and was a letter and a painting drawn by a girl who writes about how she is the recipient of the food and was still not very big but was grateful and was an Angel Holding what it looks like a Christmas Tree and a star at the back but we have a closeup of this and the angels hand was taken from luke and he was towards the hand. Ill show you just another film and i know the location in germany in the twenties this film shows a lot of what we saw in the drawings that we showed you. These are children lined up and everything is being checked and theyre showing their feeding card with one hand and then you had defeating where you see the food that theyve been given and i dont know if this is the chocolate soup but for ingredients our made happy and they are eating the food and we are very happy. The third boy was holding up this reading card and he wouldve been really proud to have and was very valuable. He has been nutritionally deprived as his friend comes in and carries him. There is compassion and finally i think because they are children they like cars, trucks, so a lot of these things have images of different transportation modes. This is the quaker ship that is there and the ship is carrying a lot of American Food and i found these which are really surprising and traveling by discipline was interesting and it was 100 years ago and it was bad per with the zeppelin industry and is er three was the first apple in that was made in germany after these ships but they could make one if it was given and not correct but the u. S. Could have it. Many german children saw this as something required and its carrying thank you letters to the quakers and i should say there is no evidence over the world that food was being shipped via zeppelin and this would have been the most expensive way possible but they are happy that happen and a quick sleight of my mother and father that they came up to see me and it is a photograph of my mother who has a strong enthusiastic thumbs up so thanks very much. applause