Celebrating Herbert Hoover’s Humanitarian Relief Work
Maryann
Mon, 08/29/2022 – 11:36
Every August, residents of Herbert Hoover’s hometown of West Branch, Iowa gather to celebrate the birthday of its most famous resident with music, food, rides, and the world championship tournament of Hoover Ball! Hoover Hometown Days also includes free admission to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. This year, a number of programs were added to commemorate Hoover’s humanitarian efforts and the centennial of his food and medical relief efforts in Soviet Russia and Ukraine.
On August 5-6, a special symposium, America’s Famine Relief Mission to Soviet Russia: A Centennial Symposium, was held at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum to mark the occasion of Hoover’s American Relief Administration’s (ARA) relief work during the 1921–23 famine. In attendance was Hoover Research Fellow Bertrand Patenaude who’s presentation “‘Hoover Must Be Punished’: The Politics and Legacy of America’s Errand of Mercy” revealed how Lenin’s initial suspicions about Hoover’s motives soon eased, but that once the relief mission ended, Stalin and his Kremlin successors alleged that the purpose of Hoover’s ARA in Soviet Russia had been espionage under the cover of philanthropy.
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Source:: Hoover Institution