Beyond Gratitude. Belgian Women, Humanitarian Organisations and Lace-Aid Programmes in the First World War

Abstract

Lacemaking is an important part of Belgium’s cultural heritage. During the First World War this renowned industry was in danger of disappearing forever. Thousands of lacemakers faced unemployment. In response, humanitarian organisations developed lace-aid programmes with a twofold goal: saving an imperilled European tradition and ensuring the wartime employment of Belgian lacemakers. The largest and most well-known programme was the one working under the auspices of the American relief organisation Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB). It was highly successful, bringing unprecedented publicity to the industry and to American philanthropy, and employing around fifty thousand women in German-occupied Belgium. The produced lace became known as war lace, with its unique iconography referring to the conflict. Most histories of Belgian war lace rather uncritically reflect an American perspective, resulting in a eulogy of the CRB and of American benevolence with expectations of Belgian gratitude. Yet, this one-sided perspective neglects any ambivalent experiences of the lacemakers, diminishes the efforts of Belgian organisations and fails to fully acknowledge the relationships between the lacemakers and the involved relief organisations. This chapter uncovers the reactions of the lacemakers towards the lace-aid programme, recognises the efforts of the involved Belgian organisations and reconstructs the relationships between the lacemakers and the aid organisations involved. The results, based on newly uncovered archival research, will be useful for humanitarian, craft and social historians.