1919: International Aid for Austria

After the collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy, the supply situation of the Austrian population, which had already been exacerbated by the war, deteriorated rapidly as food deliveries from the new successor states failed to materialise. Hunger and deprivation were also part of everyday life after 1918. Protests and hunger riots ensued.

In order to stabilise the political situation, international aid organisations started to extend their activities to Austria. Government-related organisations such as the American Relief Administration or the Commonwealth Fund delivered food and clothing. The Commonwealth Fund, for example, set up a central welfare centre in Graz, where medical examinations could be carried out with the help of state-of-the-art medical equipment. With US deliveries, the US Children’s Relief Operation, under the direction of Captain Gardener Richardson, started free meal programmes for children across all of Austria, which were later also extended to adults. The Pelidisi- formula developed by Clemens von Pirquet, which was based on body height and weight, was used to determine children’s physical condition and the appropriate measures required. Starting in 1921, the US Children’s Relief Operation gradually began to withdraw from Austria and, in 1923/24, stopped its activities entirely. The Austrian government decided to continue the programme by means of its own law for free student meals, now under the name “The American-Austrian Aid Organisation”. Clothing, shoes, etc. could also be bought and distributed through the British Society of Friends (Quakers) and Dutch, Swiss and Swedish support.