Humanitarian Aid to Civilian Prisoners in Russia and Germany: Actors and Reception (1914 – 1918)

The article dwells on humanitarian aid offered to enemy aliens on the territory of Russia and Germany during World War I. The focus is made on the activities of the Protecting Powers – the neutral USA, Sweden representing Germany’s interests on the territory of the Russian Empire and neutral Spain supporting Russian civilians in Germany – as well as the reception of the Protecting Powers’ support in ego-documents. The humanitarian initiatives of the Red Cross International and national committees led to material support of civilians and their identification, as well as played an important role in the exchange of captured civilians, their repatriation, the inspection of internees’ camps, and negotiations with representatives of the military commandment on better treatment of captive civilians. The authors look at the Young People’s Christian Union as a transnational charity organization having its affiliates in almost all European countries and the US. Quakers’ organizations operated on the territory of Russia and Germany. They helped fighting against hunger, the exchange of captured civilians and their repatriation, and promoted a conflict-free cooperation with other charity organizations. The motives for providing humanitarian aid were not only purely altruistic, but pragmatic and political, as well, argues the author. The reception of humanitarian initiatives in ego-documents would not only reveal the facts, but often depended on the emotional perception of the authors of the recollections.