New Exhibit Demonstrates Hoover's Spirit and Compassion
"Hoover had a soft spot for Poland and its liberty," said Peter Gessner, curator of the exhibit.
This special relationship dates back to Hoover's days as a student at Stanford University where he met and befriended Polish pianist and patriot, Ignacy Paderewski. Hoover began to speak on Poland's behalf and the fact that it was no longer a free country. After World War I, Hoover received approval from President Woodrow Wilson to continue humanitarian efforts in Poland, now a war-driven land. Hoover's mission included bringing food and clothing to the children of Poland. He also helped to establish over six thousand soup kitchens throughout Poland, ultimately feeding 1.3 million children.
Today, in a time where America may not be looked upon so favorably by other countries, it still comes out on top in Poland because of Hoover's efforts there.
"The people of Poland were saved by the actions of Hoover," said Gessner.
The Spirit of Compassion includes many photos of Hoover in Poland. According to Gessner, one photograph in particular demonstrates a moment that Hoover himself found very touching. This is a photograph of a march that included over thirty-two thousand children, thanking Hoover for his efforts in Poland.
This exhibit was brought to Buffalo by the Western New York Division of the Polish American Congress along with the support of several other Polonian organizations such as the Roman Catholic Union of America and Permanent Chair of Polish Cultures at Canisius College. "The Spirit of Compassion" is open from 11AM to 4PM daily, except on Mondays. It runs until the end of September.
Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum is located at 453 Porter Avenue
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al-alo
ahh Hoover. great for Poland, Hooverville, USA - not so much.
never hear those limited govt folks proclaim Hoover's greatness. im wondering why that is.
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RaChaCha
Hoover also achieved well-deserved fame for coordinating Belgian Relief, which saved countless thousands of lives in war-ravaged Europe.
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al-alo
Dam Hoover!
Get it?
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al-alo
but perhaps it was the private NGO success of the Belgian Relief that colored his initially limited response to the great depression.
not that im saying Hoover was a bad man, he most certainly was a humanitarian. but the limited federal government action he took at the onset of the Depression, showed the weakness of depending on volunteer efforts.
in fairness, late in his term Hoover took and sought more interventionist action (similar to later Roosevelt plans). sadly for his political career, it was too late.
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bisonherd
The two greatest protectors of western civilization in the last 1000 years are French and Polish. Charles Martel who stopped the islamic invasion of Portugal and Spain in France and then drove them back and later General Sobieski whose brave Polish troops were the only armies that responded as the Islamic Ottomans invaded Greece, then the Balkans (Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia (and all the other now independent Yugoslav countries) all the way up to the walls of Vienna.
The polish people have been ignored as the heros of western civilization along. Nearly every european war over the last thousand years had western troops crossing Poland going east or Russian troops crossing Poland going west....and in each case it was always the polish people who suffered and died at the hands of foreign invaders.
with this post, I salute my friends the Poles!
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bisonherd
The two greatest protectors of western civilization in the last 1000 years are French and Polish. Charles Martel who stopped the islamic invasion of Portugal and Spain in France and then drove them back and later General Sobieski whose brave Polish troops were the only armies that responded as the Islamic Ottomans invaded Greece, then the Balkans (Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia (and all the other now independent Yugoslav countries) all the way up to the walls of Vienna.
The polish people have been ignored as the heros of western civilization along. Nearly every european war over the last thousand years had western troops crossing Poland going east or Russian troops crossing Poland going west....and in each case it was always the polish people who suffered and died at the hands of foreign invaders.
with this post, I salute my friends the Poles!
Report this
bisonherd
The two greatest protectors of western civilization in the last 1000 years are French and Polish. Charles Martel who stopped the islamic invasion of Portugal and Spain in France and then drove them back and later General Sobieski whose brave Polish troops were the only armies that responded as the Islamic Ottomans invaded Greece, then the Balkans (Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia (and all the other now independent Yugoslav countries) all the way up to the walls of Vienna.
The polish people have been ignored as the heros of western civilization along. Nearly every european war over the last thousand years had western troops crossing Poland going east or Russian troops crossing Poland going west....and in each case it was always the polish people who suffered and died at the hands of foreign invaders.
with this post, I salute my friends the Poles!
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Colin
Ok, so you don't like Jews, and you don't like Muslims either. Got it.
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al-alo
i love how Greece is one of the pillars of western civilization, but the Ottoman Turks are not. nothing like imaginary borders.
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bisonherd
moron, western civilization does not include the turks or ottomans oe persians
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wizardofza
define "western"
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al-alo
well thought out retort there, bisonherd.
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wwabbit
Props to al-alo. One reels at the irony of a Hoover exhibit at this point in our country's economic history. While some may lament the parallel, we still throw tons of money overseas when it could be much better spent here.
Western Civilization. What a nice idea.
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Brette
bisonherd = Chris69 in case you hadn't 'herd'!
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Brandon28
It is a sad irony that we tend to focus in history books on evil aspects of our history and tend to forget those who did good. We can name dozens of world leaders who fought in heroic wars but we can name very few humanitarians, people who protected human lives and opposed violence. Sure we all have heard about Ghandi, many of us have heard about Albert Schweitzer but that's where it ends. I was stunned to learn about Hoover's humanitarian effort. Nobody has ever told me that he saved millions of lives. We all know about Bill Gates and that he gives his fortune away, and the scale he operates on. But you have never heard about Hoover (who BTW was also an orphan). Hoover gave away millions of dollars and worked 18 hours a day to save millions of innocent war victims. He did it during WW I and WW II. You can learn a lot from Hoover's biography. I'll be the first one to see this exhibit.
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Brandon28
Before you start blaming Hoover for the Big Depression please read what Eleanor Roosevelt said about it. "He had nothing to do with it". She knew what she was talking about. Hoover was made a scapegoat during the presidential campaign. The Great Depression began in October 1929, when the stock values dropped very quickly. Why? The final blow came when it was announced that western European countries won't be able to pay their WW I reconstruction loans. Hoover's government had very little power to ease the depression. It was much later when the president received more control to produce new laws that gave the government far more power than at any time in the history to control the money market. Don't blame Hoover for the economic disaster. he had one of the more ambitious economic plans of all XX century presidents.
wwabbit - most of the money Hoover used in Europe he collected himself from private sources many articles about it on the web. Governments don't give away money so eagerly.
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