Title

Table of Contents

Historical Note

Scope and Content Note

Board of Directors

Committees

Subject File

Quarterly Reports

Case Histories

Photographs

War in Europe

Publications/ Publicity

Miles For Millions

Donor Countries

Program Countries

Volume I: Records of Foster Parents Plan International, 1939-1994

Return to Special Collections

Special Collections

RECORDS OF
FOSTER PARENTS PLAN INTERNATIONAL, INC.
1937-1982
VOLUME II

 MSG# 117

SERIES VII	WAR IN EUROPE	DATES
2’ (4 boxes)		1937-1945

Between 1939 and 1945, PLAN changed its name twice, survived two wars and two evacuations, and expanded its enrollment from Spanish children to any children suffering as a result of war in Europe. This series contains records documenting PLAN's early organization and attempts to assist children in Europe orphaned or made refugees, first by the Spanish Civil War and later by World War II. It also documents the changing circumstances and organizational structure of PLAN during the war years.

To reflect these changing circumstances and conditions, the records have been divided into four sub-series as follows: Biarritz, the London Committee, Spain, and Telegrams.

Sub-series I, Biarritz, contains records relating to PLAN's establishment and maintenance of hostels and colonies in the Biarritz area of France for children who were refugees of the Spanish Civil War and World War II. Many of the children in these hostels and colonies were evacuated to England when France fell to Germany in 1940. Included are correspondence, memos, reports, budgets, questionnaires, and lists of refugee children. Particularly informative is the correspondence between the hostel administrator Esme Odgers and PLAN's international executive director, Edna Blue. They discussed a wide range of subjects including the organization of the hostels, conditions for Spanish refugees, repatriation of refugees, and plans for evacuation after the fall of France. The records in this sub-series are arranged alphabetically by subject or type of record and chronologically within folders.

Sub-series II, the London Committee, relates to PLAN's activities in London during World War II. These activities were coordinated by a group known as the London Committee. Included are correspondence, reports, lists of refugee children in the PLAN colonies, minutes of meetings, newspaper clippings, and questionnaires. The correspondence between Edna Blue and English director Judy (Ivy) Mason is especially informative. Mason's almost daily letters to Blue, which can be found in the folders labeled "Correspondence," provided a detailed and comprehensive account of life in London during the German blitzkrieg bombing and describes the reactions of Londoners and children in the colonies to the daily devastation. The records in this sub-series are arranged alphabetically by subject or type of record and chronologically within folders.

Sub-series III, Spain, documents PLAN's attempts to assist children orphaned or made refugees by the Spanish Civil War. Included are appeals for assistance, articles about Spanish refugee children, a copy of a speech attributed to PLAN cofounder John Langdon-Davies, and bulletins of the National Joint Committee for Spanish Relief. The records are arranged alphabetically by subject or type of record and chronologically within folders.

Sub-series IV, Telegrams, consists of an exchange of telegrams between staff in New York and Europe in 1939 and 1940. Although they deal primarily with administrative and financial issues, the telegrams also include detailed information about the hostels and colonies, life in England during the German blitzkrieg, and the reactions of the children in the colonies to the bombing. The telegrams are arranged chronologically by date.