birkbeck college, university of london

Jessica Reinisch Birkbeck College, University of London

The United Nations Relief and

Rehabilitation Administration

(UNRRA) and the ‘world task in

public health’ after the Second

World War

UNRRA DP camps in occupied Germany, 1945

1. Starting Conditions – contagion & war2. Planning & Coordination

3. Internationalism

4. Science & Expertise

5. Political programmes & Publicity

6. Outcomes

Post-war population

movements in Europe

(numbers in

thousands)

1947 borders

“Scorched Earth”, Murmansk 1941

(photo by Yevgeni Chaldey)

January 1946 – street in Warsaw, Poland

United Nations Photo

1. Starting Conditions – contagion & war

2. Planning & Coordination3. Internationalism



6. Outcomes

Members of UNRRA’s Health Division inspect medical equipmentUnited Nations Photo

Population Category Average Daily Calorie Requirements

CHILDRENChildren under one year

1-3 years4-6 years7-9 years

10-12 years

9001,2001,6002,0002,500

ADOLESCENTSBoys 13-15 yearsGirls 13-15 yearsBoys 16-20 yearsGirls 16-20 years

3,2002,8003,8002,400

MENSedentary

Moderately activeActive

Heavy workers

2,5003,0003,6004,200

WOMENSedentary

Moderately activeActive

Pregnant and nursing

2,1002,5003,0003,000

Recommended Minimum Daily Calorie Requirements of Different Population Groups under Emergency Conditions, 1944

Based on reports of the Inter- Allied Committee on Post-War Requirements


2. Planning & Coordination

3. Internationalism4. Science & Expertise


6. Outcomes

Polish DPs from the UNRRA camp at Landsberg, on their way to board a

repatriation train




3. Internationalism

4. Science & Expertise5. Political programmes & Publicity

6. Outcomes

DDT for Typhus Control DDT for Malaria Control

Recipient Country

10% DDT Powder

(in Pounds)

20% DDT Powder

(in Gallons)

26% DDT Powder

(in Gallons)

100% DDT Powder

(in Pounds)

Albania 198,100 39,000 50,000 24,000

China 2,394,410 …. 130,000 250,000

Czecho- slovakia

216,040 …. …. 6,450

Ethiopia 170,000 …. 4,000 ….

Greece 205,175 275,204 253,000 533,100

Hungary 8,900 …. …. ….

Italy 224,640 …. 225,000 406,000

Korea 100,000 …. …. ….

Philippines …. …. …. 20,000

Poland 2,014,980 …. …. 157,525

Yugoslavia 1,254,236 90,000 270,000 55,000

Totals 6,786,481(3,393 tons)

404,204 932,000 1,452,075

UNRRA Total Programme for Shipping DDT

from: Wilbur A.Sawyer, 'Achievements of UNRRA as an International Health Organisation', American Journal of Public Health, Vol.37, No.1, January 1947

Geesthacht, Germany – Displaced Persons stir the fats to make soft and hard soaps supplied to UNRRA Assembly Centres in the Lubeck area.


“Incoming to UNRRA, or heading out to work with it abroad, citizens of many nations attend courses at UNRRA’s Training Center. Held in the heart of the University of Maryland’s Campus, each UNRRA class numbers 30 to 40 trainees, whose courses run approx. 6 weeks.”


April 1946 – Various stages of a demonstration of DDT dusting, given by Lt.Col. Greely (UNRRA Typhus Control Commission) to Polish doctors at the

Ministry of Health




3. Internationalism


5. Political Programmes & Publicity6. Outcomes

1946 – “UNRRA wheat and other foodstuffs are eaten by the orphans at Boduen”

(photos by John Vachon)


Gdansk, Poland – “Fresh milk on the dock. These children have each received a mug of warm milk right from one of the U.S. cows unloaded from the UNRRA livestock

ship” (photo by John Vachon)


1946 – UNRRA tractors en route from Gdynia to farms in southern Poland, parked for the night in Central Warsaw.


UNRRA repatriation train, stopping at a feeding station in Bamberg




3. Internationalism


5. Political Programmes & Publicity

6. Results

Dr. H.Holle (Chief of UNRRA Medical Services) and Dr. Franciszek Litwin (Polish Minister of Health) inspect infectious disease rates in Poland


1919 1920 1945 1946

January 14,207 34,530 …. 1,235

February 17,061 25,858 …. 635

March 23,272 27,843 …. 516

April 28,190 24,616 1,867 417

May 33,929 24,339 2,987 221

June 20,445 12,329 1,795 89

July 22,287 5,366 1,536 99

August 14,735 1,388 794 78

September 11,986 1,650 782 47

October 12,980 2,195 869 ….

November 12,382 3,013 601 ….

December 18,333 4,576 682 ….

Number of cases of Typhus Fever in Poland – 1919-1920 and 1945-1946, From: Wilbur A.Sawyer, 'Achievements of UNRRA as an International Health Organisation', American Journal of Public Health, Vol.37, No.1, January 1947

Immunisation at DP camp Kloster Indersdorf (Germany)United Nations Photo

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