Figure 1.--Herec we see a scne in West Germaany probably about 1946-47. There is no information associated with the photograph, but the U.S. Army is sponsoring some kind of community event. It seems to be well attended. The boys on the platform are competing and the boy at the right seems to have won and is very excited about it. He is about to get some sort of prize.

We note a range of events for children supported by the American GIs during the occupation of Germany. Here we see a Christmas party thrown by the GIs for the children, possible for orphans (figure 1). The GIs made sure there was plenty of candy to go around. Children this age would not have known what chocolate was until the Americans arrived. Even other candies were in very short supply. (Sugar was mostly an imported commodity and Germany was unable to import from the tropical countries that produced sugar. Chocolate of course war entirely imported.) We also see a range of community events in which the GIs were involved. German schools got donated food for the children. This was, however, an effort by the occupation authorities and not donations by individual military units.

Created: 8:01 PM 7/17/2024
Last updated: 8:01 PM 7/17/2024