Tag Archives: World War II

History News Network: The Great Thing The Allies Did as Germany Crumbled

As we remember V-E Day (May 8, 1945) and the Allies victory in World War II Europe, let’s also think of the unsung heroes. For throughout Europe there was another war raging against hunger.

US and British pilots heroically airlifted food into the Netherlands, who were starving under Nazi occupation.

A US Army Colonel, OJ Bizzozero, and a Red Cross official, Kevin Silber, advocated a great idea for feeding hungry children in recently liberated Italy.

Bizzozero exclaimed, “You would have to go into the schools. Schools are the place to go.” Silber replied, “In that way we could furnish milk to children who need it, and at the same time stimulate school attendance.” Soup and vegetables were also provided to hungry school children in Italy.

This emergency school feeding, which the Allies did throughout Europe, is one of the best ways to help the suffering children of war. It’s a lesson we should well remember because at this very moment children are hungry and missing out on education because of conflict.

See my full commentary at the History News Network.

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Columbus Dispatch Oped: In war zones, feeding kids in school solves 2 problems

As we remember V-E Day (May 8, 1945) and the Allies’ victory in World War II Europe, let’s also think of the unsung heroes. Throughout Europe there was another war raging against hunger.

U.S. and British pilots heroically airlifted food into the Netherlands, where people were starving under Nazi occupation.

U.S. Army Col. O.J. Bizzozero and a Red Cross official, Kevin Silber, had a great idea for feeding hungry children in recently liberated Italy.

Bizzozero exclaimed: “You would have to go into the schools. Schools are the place to go.” Silber replied, “In that way we could furnish milk to children who need it, and at the same time stimulate school attendance.” Soup and vegetables were provided to hungry schoolchildren in Italy.

This emergency school feeding, which the Allies did throughout Europe, is one of the best ways to help the suffering children of war. It’s a lesson we should well remember because at this very moment children are hungry and missing out on education because of conflict.

See my full commentary at the Columbus Dispatch:

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My History News Network column on Hiroshima

History is being made this week with President Obama’s visit to Hiroshima.  He is the only sitting U.S. president to make the trip to the site of the first atomic bombing on Japan during World War II.

Mary Popeo, of the nuclear disarmament group Global Zero, exclaims, “Having spent three summers in Hiroshima and Nagasaki working with the Japanese bomb victims and the Japanese peace movement, I can tell you that Obama’s trip is a huge deal!”

The President should use this historic opportunity to build support for the global treaty ending nuclear weapons testing. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) is the key to unlocking the door to a future without the crushing burden and fear of nuclear weapons.

See my full commentary at the History News Network

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Video: The Marshall Plan to Rebuild Europe After World War II

Short films about the creation of the Post WWII Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe. An interim food aid plan preceded the Marshall Plan of 1948. Secretary of State George Marshall speaks. See the video on YouTube.

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Video: Food Stamps During World War II

A short excerpt from a World War II film produced by the Department of Agriculture. It shows the new food stamp program made available to needy persons during the war. See the video on YouTube.

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Remembering our Greatest Mission

70 years ago the U.S. and British air forces led a life-saving mission that is a great example today, as we face some of the worst humanitarian emergencies since that time.

See my commentary at The History News Network.

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Video: Herbert Hoover as Food Ambassador after World War II

Excerpt from a United Newsreel report of Herbert Hoover returning from world tour as the food ambassador to fight hunger. See the video at YouTube.

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Video: Food for the Netherlands- World War II

This video shows footage of American planes dropping food into the Netherlands near the end of World War II. Food shortages caused by World War II claimed the lives of many people in the Netherlands during the hunger winter of 1944–1945.

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Video: Food Will Win the War and Write the Peace

A World War II video produced by the Department of Agriculture on the importance of food in winning the war and the peace. See the video on YouTube.

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Video: Dwight Eisenhower on Ending Child Hunger

Excerpt of General Dwight Eisenhower’s July 8, 1948 speech for a United Nations Crusade for Children. Eisenhower talks about the importance of ending child hunger in the quest for peace, a theme still very much relevant today. View the video on Youtube.

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