Save the Children and the question of compassion for 'enemy' children

Awarded a doctorate in 2005 with a thesis on the origins of British humanitarian organisations during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), Rebecca Gill is the author of the book Calculating Compassion: British Relief in War, 1870-1814 (Manchester University Press, 2012). Since 2006 she has taught contemporary history at the University of Huddersfield, focusing particularly on humanitarian aid in wartime.

Summary. In 1919 the Save the Children Fund started funding aid work for malnourished children in Germany. This initiative represented a practical demonstration of compassion, as well as a political protest against the British blockade of Germany at the end of the First World War. At the same time, the organisation attempted to turn itself into an international association with the mission of ‘saving’ all children. By examining the recently-discovered documents of Emily Hobhouse (her school food programme in Leipzig was funded by Save the Children), the speaker will examine the practical problems involved in feeding large groups of children in light of the new science of nutrition, and she will also be exploring some of the organisation’s internal debates on how to combine caring for children in ‘enemy’ countries with the need to build international alliances.

Streaming:
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