'Relief Operations in Europe in the immediate aftermath of WWII' workshop to be held at Birbeck College, London on 16th June 2006. (360G-Wellcome-080361_Z_06_Z)

Workshop: Relief operations in Europe in the immediate aftermath of WWII, Birkbeck College, London, 16 June 2006 Although in the aftermath of war relief operations were carried out by a multitude of different organisations (civilian, military, medical) on a fantastic scale and at huge cost, the subject of relief work has not so far received significant attention. While medical histories of the immediate post-war period have until recently been insulated from broader historiographical concerns and trends, general histories have persistently ignored public health and medical questions. This workshop aims to advance our understanding of the post-war period by moving the subject of medical relief work to the centre of mainstream historical enquiries of post-war Europe. This workshop will bring into focus the problem fo relief work in the immediate aftermath of war. It will document the extent to which relief work was seen as a first step in the longer-term rehabilitation of war-torn Europe. It will also assess the ways in which relief work was from the start shaped by a number of at times conflicting premises, which helped to identify, define and justify different categories of people and populations in need of assistance. Overall, the workshop will shed light on the complexities of post-war relief efforts.