Ireland's Helping Hand to Europe Combatting Hunger from Normandy to Tirana, 1945–1950 / Jerôme aan de Wiel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

De Wiel, Jerôme aan, 1966- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International economic relations.

Humanitarian assistance.

Food relief.

Humanitarian assistance--Ireland--History--20th century.

Food relief--Ireland--History--20th century.

Ireland.

Europe.

Europe--Foreign economic relations--Ireland.

Ireland--Foreign economic relations--Europe.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (574 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Central European University Press, New York : 2021.

Summary:

"Post-war Marshall Plan aid to Europe and indeed Ireland is well documented, but practically nothing is known about simultaneous Irish aid to Europe. This book provides a full record of the aid - mainly food but also clothes, blankets, medicines, etc. - that Ireland donated to continental Europe, including France, the Netherlands, Hungary, the Balkans, Italy, and zones of occupied Germany. Starting with Ireland's neutral wartime record, often wrongly presented as pro-German when Ireland in fact unofficially favoured the western Allies, Jerome aan de Wiel explains why Éamon de Valera's government sent humanitarian aid to the devastated continent. His book analyses the logistics of collection and distribution of supplies sent abroad as far as the Greek islands. Despite some alleged Cold-War hijacking of Irish relief - and this humanitarianism was not above the politics of that East-West confrontation - it became mostly a story of hope, generosity and European Christian solidarity. Rich archival records from Ireland and the European beneficiary countries, as well as contemporary local and national newspapers across Europe, allow the author to measure and describe not only the official but also the popular response to Irish relief schemes. This work is illustrated with contemporary photographs and some key graphs and tables that show the extent of the aid programme"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I Deciding and Organising Relief at Home

Chapter One. Handshake Debacle amidst Humanitarian Crisis

Chapter Two. ‘A drop in the ocean’: The Decision to send Relief

Chapter Three. Reaction and Organisation

Chapter Four. Archbishop McQuaid to the Rescue

Chapter Five. 1946: Extending Postwar Relief

Chapter Six. End of Relief

Part II Distributing Irish Supplies Abroad

Introduction: relief in the unfolding Cold War

Chapter Seven. Irish Aid to Western Europe

Chapter Eight Cooperation with the International Red Cross in Geneva

Chapter Nine. The Western Allied-Occupied Zones in Germany

Chapter Ten. Berlin, the Soviet-Occupied Zone, and Eastern Expellees

Chapter Eleven. Ireland’s Aid to Central Europe: Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland

Chapter Twelve. Hungary

Chapter Thirteen. Ireland’s Aid to the Balkans: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania

Chapter Fourteen. Yugoslavia

Chapter Fifteen. Thanking Ireland

Conclusion

Photos

List of frequently used abbreviations

Bibliography and sources

Index

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-003-72025-0

963-386-409-7

963-386-410-0

9781003720256

OCLC:

1257316873