Ready for sight seers during World War I

Photograph shows the hotel district in the city of Verdun, France, after World War, which declared itself ready for tourism, even though wooden braces propped up buildings and much of the city remained covered by rubble.
Caption label from exhibit "World War I ...": American Red Cross Documents the Need for Reconstruction. With an estimated one million casualties, the Battle of Verdun from February 21 to December 18, 1916, was the war's longest and one of its deadliest campaigns. This post-war view of the town offers a glimpse both of the devastation and the efforts to rebuild and recover. American optimism and energy played a role in rebuilding Europe and providing nutrition to war-torn France. Despite the organization's insistence that hotels were ready for occupation, the buttresses supporting these buildings two years after the war ended, hinted that Europe was still in need of major reconstruction.

Inscribed on lower left corner of photo: RC2362.
Printed at top of mount: American Red Cross Washington, D.C.
Includes lengthy typed caption on verso.
Typed on verso: No. RC-2362.
Photo provided by the "Paris Office."
Exhibited: "World War I : American Artists View the Great War" in the Graphic Arts Gallery, Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., October 2016 - May 2017.
(American Red Cross), c5, d4, France - Reconstruction - Rebuilding