Behind the lines : WWI's little-known story of German occupation, Belgian resistance, and the band of Yanks who saved billions from starvation : beginnings, 1914 / Jeffrey B. Miller.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 399-404) and index. "Behind the Lines follows a handful of Belgians in German-occupied Belgium and a group of Americans in the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB) from August 1914 until April 1917, when America enters the war and the CRB delegates have to leave Belgium"--About the book. Donation from John Nelson from Decorah whose father is quoted in the book.
Contents:
August 1914, Invasion -- September 1914, Beginnings of hunger and retaliation -- October 1914, Stumbling toward organization -- November 1914, Coming together -- December 1914, Uncertainty prevails.
Summary:
During World War I, the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB) initiated, organized, and supervised the largest food and relief drive the world has ever seen. Working in concert with its counterpart in Belgium, the Comite National, the CRB fed and clothed for four years more than 9 million Belgians and northern French trapped behind German lines. Young, idealistic Americans volunteered to go into German-occupied Belgium to guarantee the food would not be taken by the Germans. They had to maintain strict neutrality in what they said and did as they watched the Belgians suffer under the harsh German regime. Covering August 1914 through December 1914, this nonfiction book follows a handful of CRB delegates, a twenty-two-year-old Belgian woman, two U.S. diplomats, the head of the CRB, and a Belgian businessman and a Belgian priest who team up to fight the German occupation. It is a story that few have heard.--
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