Yanks behind the Lines: How the Commission for Relief in Belgium Saved Millions from Starvation during World War I

Winner, 2021 Colorado Book Awards, HistoryWinner, 2021 American Fest’s Best Book Awards, History: Military“This is a powerful work of history, as informative as it is dramatically gripping. An impressive blend of painstaking historical scholarship and riveting storytelling.”—Kirkus Reviews More than nine million soldiers died in World War I. At the same time, a US-led effort saved nearly ten million civilians from starvation behind the lines during the German occupation, yet one of America’s greatest humanitarian efforts is virtually unknown today. In this gripping book, Jeffrey B. Miller tells the remarkable history of two American and Belgian citizen-created organizations that led a massive food relief program for civilians trapped in German-occupied Belgium and northern France. Herbert Hoover, then a successful international businessman, was the driving force behind the effort, coercing and bullying the governments of Germany, Great Britain, France, and the United States to allow a group of idealistic young volunteers to organize in occupied Belgium and coordinate the distribution of tons of food and clothing to desperate Belgians. These crusaders, known as CRB delegates, had to maintain strict neutrality as they watched the Belgians suffer under the harsh German regime. Miller tells compelling stories of German brutality, Belgian relief efforts, and the idealistic Americans who went into German-occupied Belgium from October 1914 up to May 1917, when they were forced to leave after the April entry into the war of the United States. Yanks interweaves the history of the time with fascinating personal stories of volunteers, diplomats, a young Belgian woman who started a dairy farm to feed Antwerp’s children, the autocratic head of the Belgian relief organization, and the founder of the American organization, who would become known to the world as the Great Humanitarian and later, largely because of his work in Belgium and post-war Europe, would become the thirty-first president of the United States. Visit the book’s website here: www.YanksBehindTheLines.com Watch the book trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0YKJRrSe4o

Table of Contents:
Author’s Note and Acknowledgments Reader Aids Preface 1 1914, Setting the Stage 2 First Challenges, First Steps 3 Hoover and Other Relief Efforts 4 Rotterdam: The Transshipping Hub 5 Life in German-Occupied Belgium 6 The CRB Delegates 7 The Mechanics of Relief 8 The Belgian Side of Food Relief 9 Food Relief in Northern France 10 Pressures from Von Bissing 11 Internal Strife and Battle for Control 12 Critical Crop Negotiations 13 Accusations: Hoover as Traitor, Delegates as Spies 14 A Breaking Point 15 The German Deportations 16 The Human Toll 17 The Last Days of Americans in Belgium 18 Epilogue Notes Sources Index About the Author

About the Author :
Jeffrey B. Miller has been a writer, magazine editor, and independent historian for more than forty years. After a decade of full-time research, he wrote two Kirkus Best Books of the Year on the Belgian relief effort. This book is the culmination of his work on a concise history for readers interested in learning more about one of America’s finest hours in humanitarian aid.

Review :
Miller emphasizes not the dubious glories of war, but war’s impact on ordinary people, and the amazing feats that people can achieve when they are determined enough. World War I brought unprecedented chaos and carnage, he shows, but it also sparked an outpouring of charity greater than anyone thought possible. This book is a worthy testament to everyone who participated in this admirable endeavor. Clarion Rating 4 out of 5. Miller brings a complex story to vivid life, astutely explaining the political and cultural landscape of Belgium but also the unfolding of the conflict. . . . This is a powerful work of history, as informative as it is dramatically gripping. An impressive blend of painstaking historical scholarship and riveting storytelling. A huge impact of war that is rarely talked about is the near starvation suffered by millions. Jeffrey B. Miller tells this riveting tale about American volunteers who attempted to save millions from dying of hunger during World War One. This is one of the largest humanitarian aid efforts ever made and the account of how it happened is well overdue. The Commission for Relief in Belgium was founded by . . . Herbert Hoover—and this story alone is extraordinary. Miller uses testimony, including an unpublished account of the commission’s work. What lifts this book above many is the personal testimony; his own grandparents helped to provide food for Belgian citizens. A heart-warming read.” Miller’s telling of this forgotten WWI tale is well-documented, detailed, and crisply written. His engaging narrative approaches its topic from many perspectives, including the viewpoints of Hoover, the Germans, and those living in Belgium. . . this is a well-told tale, one bound to interest WWI enthusiasts and fans of untold histories. Jeffrey Miller delivers a gripping account of how private individuals in a U.S.-led effort saved millions from starvation during the First World War. . . .The story is full of drama that Miller sketches well, particularly tensions between the CRB and Comité National, and between Hoover and everyone else. . . . Particularly helpful are period photographs and Miller’s statistical charts, helping readers stay oriented and personalizing the humanitarians who founded the first international nongovernmental organization. History buffs will be eager to learn the struggles of the Belgian and northern French during the war as well as the courage and fortitude of those who sacrificed to feed the desperate. Takeaway: This compelling chronicle will grip history buffs while opening their eyes to a little known but vitally important humanitarian mission. General-interest history readers who look for lively stories that bring to life events and people will find Yanks Behind The Lines . . .provides a revealing, engrossing experience of the efforts of young, inexperienced American volunteers who entered German-occupied Belgium to save that nation from starvation during World War I. . . . The World War I atmosphere is given a 'you are here' feel that juxtaposes history's facts and statistics with a personal touch to reach general-interest readers beyond the usual World War I scholar or history buff. . . . [R]equired reading for anyone interested in how humanitarian efforts operate behind the scenes during war times in general, and in Belgium during World War I in particular. [An] educational and enlightening look at how a joint effort involving American soldiers prevented millions from going hungry in WWI. The author’s meticulous research and detailed knowledge . . . makes this historic event come to life and the maps, charts, images, and documented anecdotes illustrate the author’s points further, adding an extra layer to the book’s authenticity. Yanks behind the Lines: How the Commission for Relief in Belgium Saved Millions from Starvation during World War I deftly interweaves the history of the time with fascinating personal stories of volunteers, diplomats, a young Belgian woman who started a dairy farm to feed Antwerp's children, the autocratic head of the Belgian relief organization, and the founder of the American organization, who would become known to the world as the Great Humanitarian and later, largely because of his work in Belgium and post-war Europe, would become the thirty-first president of the United States. Critique: An impressively written study, [this book] is an inherently fascinating read. An exceptionally informative and meticulous presented history that is especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library collections. Yanks behind the Lines is a fascinating portrait of America’s first world war. Exploring a vital but little-known chapter of humanitarian intervention, Miller establishes the centrality to the American war experience of saving Belgium and France from famine. A valuable and formidable addition to World War I scholarship . . . [Miller] is as fascinated by the account as he wants his readers to be absorbed and moved by it. Through tireless research and sheer literary skill, he accomplishes his task. Supported by notes, sources, and reader aids, this studious effort is worth the time of anyone interested in gripping real-life stories behind weighty historical truths. It will be a revelation for many Americans to discover Jeff Miller's excellent account of the ‘piratical state organized for benevolence,’ which helped position the United States as a moral force for good in the world at the outbreak of the 20th century's first world war. Herbert Hoover's leadership in the enterprise may come as an even greater surprise, and Miller's knowledgeable account unveils this forgotten history for us all. Jeffrey Miller’s Yanks behind the Lines brings to life a little-known but hugely important and absolutely inspiring story: how nearly ten million civilians in German-occupied Belgium during World War I were saved from starvation, thanks to a group of idealistic Americans, led by a young organizational genius named Herbert Hoover. This was the shining moment when the United States first stepped upon the world stage as a generous force for all humanity. A moment worth the retelling––and remembering. An important and unique contribution to World War I histories, Jeff Miller’s meticulously researched book fills the void of an often-forgotten aspect of the war: US humanitarian efforts. This is a beautifully written story about one of America’s finest hours. InYanks behind the Lines, Jeffrey B. Miller sheds welcome light on one of the noblest episodes in modern American history: the pioneering humanitarian relief mission, led by Herbert Hoover, that saved millions of Belgian and French civilians from starvation during World War I. Americans should learn this remarkable story, which Miller—a gifted chronicler—tells with acuity and verve. With Yanks behind the Lines, Jeff Miller reminds us of an almost forgotten chapter from the history of World War I. The war not only cost the lives of millions of soldiers. For millions of civilians, it also meant deprivation, hardship, and hunger. In the territories of Belgium and northern France that were occupied by the Germans, American and Belgium relief organizations safeguarded the survival of the civil population. With his fascinating book, Miller raises a permanent monument to this remarkable humanitarian commitment. The book commemorates today the fact that practicing humanity in time of wars and crises can save human lives. There is no better expert than Jeffrey B. Miller to portray the brave young Americans who joined the CRB and served the Belgian and French civilians trapped behind German lines during the First World War. He gives us the story of their daily challenging life, the dangers they faced, their inventiveness, and their interactions with the impoverished civilians as well as with the German occupying forces and the local governments. Yanks behind the Lines is the story—and more—of the Americans who launched the first international nongovernmental organization. The Commission for Relief in Belgium, run by the brilliant personality of Herbert Hoover, is a moment in US history to be remembered and to be proud of. Here is the entire story of how Americans jumped into action, overcoming Belgium nationalism, British bureaucracy, and German militarism. . . . Miller is uniquely qualified to research and write this book, as his maternal grandparents were active participants in the effort. . . . This gave him direct access to oral histories, diaries, and other documents to tell this story. . . . While we students of the Great War concentrate on the battles, it is well to read how the ordinary citizens of Europe, trapped behind enemy lines, fared under enemy rule. Living in a straitjacket with no idea as to if or when basic freedoms of education and movement would be restored or when hunger would end make for a long occupation and a history worth remembering. This type of study of the CRB and its membership will be of use to historians who want to look at how a humanitarian organisation takes on the monumental task to feeding millions of people during a crisis. We often think of modern war and international aid as complex, but the work a hundred years earlier was just as complex and not aided by social media or modern instant communication and coordination. Miller’s study provides insight into the drama and the mundane of humanitarian work that could help other scholars compare and/or contextualise studies of other similar groups. Social historians could benefit from this study as it looks at how a humanitarian society can operate in a theatre of war and be successful.