National Archives and Records Administration

Intro Boyhood Lou Henry Hoover Belgian Relief Secretary of Commerce President After the White House

Elementary School Field Trips
to the
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum
  Pre & Post Visit Activities

Belgian Relief

On August 4, 1914, Belgium had been overrun by the German army. Belgium was blockaded by the British and occupied by a German army that had very little sympathy for the civilian population; over seven million Belgians faced certain starvation. In early October Hoover met with the American Ambassador Walter Hines Page and together they agreed that a committee of Americans should be formed to “centralize and direct American relief efforts for the Belgians.” Hoover’s undertaking to feed an entire country would not be an easy one. Could his skills as an engineer or his knowledge of business be sufficient to accomplish the enormous task set before him? Whatever the task, Hoover was the man for the job. His relentless energy combined with urgent action would keep the Belgian people from starvation.

To learn more about Belgian Relief go to:
http://www.ecommcode.com/hoover/hooveronline/HooverCRB/CRBIntro.html

Pre-visit activities:

• Discuss what it means to starve. When was the last time your students heard someone say or said themselves that they were “starving”? How is this different from the people of Belgium?
   
• Ask students to discuss what about Herbert Hoover’s life would cause him to take on such a seemingly insurmountable task. Perhaps breaking the class down into small teams and having them write their responses would create a better discussion.
   

Post-visit activities:

• Have students become play-writes and develop a script in which Hoover is requesting assistance in feeding the starving people of Belgium.
   
• Create nutritious menus that could be fed to thousands of people at one time. Remember that young children need a variety of vitamins to develop as they should.
   
• Design a billboard asking for assistance for the people of Belgium. Make sure you include a catchy slogan, simple but colorful graphics and all the information you think the readers need to encourage them to support this cause.
   
• Using the map provided have students determine which countries were in the greatest need of help. Why does the map look so different from those we would see in the newspaper today? For very capable students you might ask them to read and summarize the content of the article for the class.
  Click here for a printable version of “Hunger Draws the Map."