Scope and Content Note
The Belgian Children's Letters were written in February and March of 1915 to President Woodrow Wilson following the German invasion of Belgium during World War I. In 1914 Herbert Hoover had established the Commission for Relief in Belgium which shipped over five million metric tons of supplies into the occupied regions of the country from the United States. These letters, written by school children and their teachers, especially from the city of Ghent, express gratitude for the American aid. The letters are in Flemish and French, and only a few have English translations attached. Approximately half of the letters are decorated with art work and calligraphy, and some include photographs or ribbons. Some letters were written on picture postcards.
Letters from each school and class were packaged together, and the original order of their contents has been retained. The packages have been assigned numbers.