]> http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms007112 Belgian Children's Letters to President Woodrow Wilson A Register of the Collection in the Library of Congress Prepared by Karen Linn Femia with the assistance of John Monagle Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
2007

Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html

Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2007 Finding aid written in English. Collection Summary Belgian Children's Letters to President Woodrow Wilson 1915 MSS12294 8,400 items 24 containers 9.6 linear feet Collection material in Flemish, French, and English Manuscript Division Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Letters written by Belgian school children to President Woodrow Wilson expressing gratitude for American aid after the German invasion of Belgium during World War I. Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

 Personal Names Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924--Correspondence. Subjects School children--Belgium--Correspondence. World War, 1914-1918--Children--Belgium. World War, 1914-1918--Civilian relief--Belgium. Administrative Information Provenance:

The Belgian Children's Letters to President Woodrow Wilson were forwarded by the American minister at Brussels to the United States Department of State in 1919 and transferred to the Library of Congress that year. An addition was given to the library by the Woodrow Wilson House in 1964.

Processing History:

The Belgian Children's Letters to President Woodrow Wilson were arranged and described in 1996. The finding aid was revised in 2007.

 Copyright Status:

The status of copyright in the unpublished Belgian Children's Letters to President Woodrow Wilson is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).

 Preferred Citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Belgian Children's Letters to President Woodrow Wilson, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Scope and Content Note

The Belgian Children's Letters were written in February and March of 1915 to President Woodrow Wilson following the German invasion of Belgium during World War I. In 1914 Herbert Hoover had established the Commission for Relief in Belgium which shipped over five million metric tons of supplies into the occupied regions of the country from the United States. These letters, written by school children and their teachers, especially from the city of Ghent, express gratitude for the American aid. The letters are in Flemish and French, and only a few have English translations attached. Approximately half of the letters are decorated with art work and calligraphy, and some include photographs or ribbons. Some letters were written on picture postcards.

Letters from each school and class were packaged together, and the original order of their contents has been retained. The packages have been assigned numbers.

Arrangement of the Papers

This collection is arranged alphabetically by the city or province from which the letters came and therein by package number.

 Container List Container Contents 1 Brabant Province 1 Brussels (6 folders) 1 Ghent 1 Package no. 1 (5 folders) 2 (1 folder) 2 Package no. 2 (4 folders) 2 Package no. 3 (1 folder) 3 (5 folders) 3 Package no. 4 3 Package no. 5 (2 folders) 4 (1 folder) 4 Package no. 6 (3 folders) 4 Package no. 7 (4 folders) 5 (6 folders) 6 Package nos. 8-9 (6 folders) 7 Package nos. 10-15 (7 folders) 7 Package no. 16 (1 folder) 8 (1 folder) 8 Package nos. 17-26 (7 folders) 9 Package nos. 27-34 (10 folders) 10 Package nos. 35-39 (9 folders) 11 Package nos. 40-45 (9 folders) 12 Package nos. 46-48 (6 folders) 12 Package no. 49 (2 folders) 13 (2 folders) 13 Package no. 50 (5 folders) 14 Package nos. 51-55 (9 folders) 15 Package nos. 56-60 (9 folders) 16 Package nos. 61-63 (8 folders) 16 Package no. 64 (1 folder) 17 (2 folders) 17 Package nos. 65-66 (7 folders) 18 Package nos. 67-69 (10 folders) 19 Package nos. 70-78 (12 folders) 20 Package nos. 79-86 (8 folders) 21 Package no. 87 21 Loose material 21 Hainaut Province 21 Package no. 1 (2 folders) 21 Package no. 2 (4 folders) 22 (1 folder) 22 Package no. 3 (3 folders) 22 Package no. 4 (2 folders) 23 (2 folders) 23 Package nos. 5-6 (5 folders) 23 Package no. 7 (2 folders) 24 (3 folders) 24 Liege Province 24 Limburg Province 24 Luxembourg Province (3 folders)