The appointment of a woman to such a senior position was a first for an international organization. Among them was Renée Marguerite Cramer, the first female to be appointed to the Committee, the governing body of the ICRC. This reflected changes taking place in wider society at the time, with women entering the workplace to replace men who had gone to the Front. But they were soon snowed under by the 16,500 letters they were receiving daily.īy the end of 1914, the ICRC had expanded from just 10 members to some 1,200 staff, primarily working for the International Prisoners of War Agency. They include a certain Captain Charles de Gaulle, later France's president, who was captured by German forces in 1916 at Verdun.Īt its inception volunteers, who were friends and relatives of ICRC members, ran the International Prisoners of War Agency. Lining the walls are six million index cards that contain information about two million individuals – just a portion of the total who were killed, imprisoned or went missing during the war. One part of the card index at the International Prisoners of War Agency (French-Belgian section) (ICRC/BOISSONNAS, Frédéric)Įntering the archives of the International Prisoners of War Agency, which are located at the Red Cross and Red Crescent museum in Geneva, the massive scale of the tragedy of the First World War becomes clear. It also responded to requests for information from the families of people who had gone missing. The International Prisoners of War Agency negotiated with countries at war to discover information about prisoners who had been captured. Establishment of the International Prisoners of War Agency and expansion of the ICRC In addition the ICRC undertook visits to prison camps to ensure detainees were being kept in acceptable conditions, and campaigned against the use of chemical weapons. In order to do this, it established the International Prisoners of War Agency to find soldiers who had lost contact with their relatives and try to restore contact between them. British prisoners of war, captured near Bapaume, waiting to be served soup in a German field kitchen (ICRC)ĭuring the war, the ICRC maintained contact with all warring parties and employed hundreds of people to help reconnect prisoners of war from both sides with their families. Then and now, the ICRC strives always to remain indifferent to the colour of the uniforms but not to the people wearing them. Furthermore, the protection and assistance it provided to prisoners of war, injured soldiers and civilians was truly innovative. But during the First World War, the ICRC was usually alone on the battlefield. Nowadays, there are many humanitarian and other charitable organizations that provide essential relief in conflict zones around the world. This article was originally published by the British Library as one of a series commemorating 100 years since the beginning of World War One.
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