The exhibition with the title "In the name of humanity" and subtitle "American relief aid in Greece 18-1918" was inaugurated and runs until February 1929
At the American School of Classical Studies, in the "I. Makrygiannis", in Athens, the exhibition with the title "In the name of humanity" and subtitle "American relief aid in Greece 18-1918" was inaugurated and runs until February 1929. This exhibition drew its material from the rich collections of the Archives and the Gennadei Library to present the history of humanitarian aid, offered by the Americans to support refugees in Greece during the turbulent period after World War I.
The Gennadius Library was the first large library in Greece focused on the study of the Byzantine, post-Byzantine and Modern Greek world. The distinguished Greek diplomat Ioannis Gennadios, who had exerted intense pressure in favor of Greece in England and the United States, bequeathed his collection of 30.000 precious volumes to the American School. This donation of the library created a strong and unbreakable bond with Greece and, as I. Gennadios wrote, "it was done to benefit our national interests".
I visited this remarkable exhibition with the students of the Municipal People's University of Agia Paraskevi and we were lucky enough to be guided by the distinguished director of the Gennadei Library, Mrs. Maria Georgopoulou, who is also one of the curators of a remarkable and luxurious edition of the history of the exhibition with rich Photo gallery.
The exhibition highlights the contribution of different individuals from political leaders, charitable organizations, but also selfless volunteers, who with philanthropic feelings played a decisive role in the reformation of Greece after 1922. American humanitarian organizations, the American Red Cross, the American Women's and Christian Hospitals Brotherhood of Youth rallied and offered valuable help to displaced refugees and orphaned children. These organizations in cooperation with the American Friends of Greece offered mental and physical health care to the uprooted people and strengthened their vigor and will to live.
A consequence of American humanitarian aid was the significant expansion of Greek-American trade relations in the 1920s. Greece's infrastructure was upgraded, with the construction of the Marathon Dam and the drainage of the Strymonas and Drama valleys. The projects provided job opportunities to the refugees and improved the quality of life.
During the interwar period, Eleftherios Venizelos, who sought a liberal education, independent of the Church, encouraged the operation of American schools in Greece, which proved decisive for the modernization of Greek education. Thousands of their graduates, with their strong work ethic, have excelled in Greece and the United States. In addition, the Young Christian Brotherhood (JAN) and the Young Christian Union (JEN) offered housing and education to refugees after 1922.
The Greek-American diaspora of the East also contributed to culture mainly through the dissemination of folk and rebetika songs, and the exhibition of various objects, such as 78-rpm records, which capture music, voices, instruments, and express the plight of refugees, is impressive.
The report "In the name of humanity" is without a doubt worthy, because it presents important events, which justify the strengthening of Greek-American relations with mutual benefits. It is a glorious page of Americans for humanity, with mercy and solidarity of other times... O tempora, o mores!
Mrs. Stella Priovolou is professor emeritus, president of the Body of Professors Emeritus of EKPA, dean of the Municipal People's University of Agia Paraskevi.
First publication https://tovima.gr
photo https://culturenow.gr
