Scenes of misery in Serbia. In Strimlja, south Serbia, most of the children look like these. Dressed in filthy rags and living in the most unhealthy and miserable surroundings their poverty and helplessness is unbelieveagle sic Industrial and vocational training schools centers as planned by the Junior Red Cross of America for this section of war-ravaged Europe, will go a long way toward alleviating permanently the heritage of misery and ignorance which war has left these unfortunate children. To train some of Serbia's thousands of war orphans into skilled workers and competent artisans will not only lift up the race, but will enable the country to carry on its reconstruction now retarded and handicapped in every way through lack of laborers

South Serbian child. In southern Serbia several thousand lonely war waifs without any protection save what they can procure through beggary are miserably existing in unbelievably filthy and unhealthy living quarters. Investigations into child welfare conditions in Europe by American Junior Red Cross directors prove the advisability of plans proposed by that organization to concentrate these children in various centers and give them sufficient industrial and vocational training to make them independent and self supporting

Queer shoes of Serbian school boy. Queer moccasins made of raw hides, pieces of old carpet and rags, compose most of the footware to be seen in Serbia to-day. Clothing of every sort is the greatest need of to-day in this land of distress. Children particularly in southern Serbia, are great sufferers, and lack of food and clothing are not the only things their frail, war-worn bodies contend with, lack of care and educational facilities are reducing them to little wild animals, and pitiable child vagrants. If the plans of the Jr. Red Cross of America becomes effective, all of these wandering, homeless children will be aided by funds sent by American school children. Vocational and industrial school centers will be established and maintained under Amercican superintendence, thus making these children over into the skilled labor so urgently needed by their country

Crippled Serbia. Signs of material devastation and war pillage are seen on every hand in Serbia but the traveller in this part of the world stands transfixed before the tragedy of her childlife. Everywhere is heartbreaking evidence of the part children have played in the great war. Orphanages are filled with the parentless, the homeless, the hungry and emaciated and finally the thousands of tubercular whose worn bodies have finally succumbed to weakness from undernourishment. In this group are some of those placed in an open air sanitarium conducted by the Junior Red Cross of America

Starvation scenes in Serbia. Starvation scenes in southern Serbia like the one here pictured are found on every hand, whole families, especially among the gypsy population, have had to bear unbelievable misery, and be constantly tortured with hunger. This extreme destitution was combatted by American Red Cross relief units that answered thousands of distress calls and supplied food, medicines, doctors and clothing in spite of transportation difficulties that at first seemed almost unsourmountable sic

Serbian girls walk and knit. Peasant girls in Serbia improve each shining hour by knitting on their way to market. In this way not a moment is lost in their hard working lives. Most of the wool that they use is carded by them and made into stockings and various warm things for the cold winter. Serbian women are industerious sic and not only accomplish all the domestic tasks usually alloted to their sex but perform much of the hardest labor of the fields and farms. Thousands of young girls in this war ravaged country are idly drifting into womanhood because they are without fathers or mothers or homes. If the Junior Red Cross of America carries on with its plans of instituting industrial and vocational training school centers in different parts of Serbia it will mean that these helpless war victims will have within their reach means of becoming skilled in some useful occupation that will assure their future independence

Serbian children in American clothes. Scrawny, undersized, illiterate children are the rule in southern Serbia and other parts of southeastern Europe that have been economically hard hit by war. Under-feeding and lack of care have made gigantic inroads on the future health and constitutional stamina of these races and it is believed by those who have investigated existing conditions that only scientific care and educational opportunities will lift them out of their present misery

Scenes of misery in Serbia. In Strimlja, south Serbia, most of the children look like these. Dressed in filthy rags and living in the most unhealthy and miserable surroundings their poverty and helplessness is unbelieveagle sic Industrial and vocational training schools centers as planned by the Junior Red Cross of America for this section of war-ravaged Europe, will go a long way toward alleviating permanently the heritage of misery and ignorance which war has left these unfortunate children. To train some of Serbia's thousands of war orphans into skilled workers and competent artisans will not only lift up the race, but will enable the country to carry on its reconstruction now retarded and handicapped in every way through lack of laborers

description

Summary

Title, date and notes from Red Cross caption card.
Photographer name or source of original from caption card or negative sleeve: Paris Office.
Group title: Serbia.
Gift; American National Red Cross 1944 and 1952.
General information about the American National Red Cross photograph collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.anrc
Temp note: Batch 24

label_outline

Explore more

LOC's Public Domain Archive

Related

Explore more