Fonds consists of records of Canadian Lutheran World Relief, documenting its aid activities in particular to post-World War II Germany and its work in bringing German refugees to Canada after World War II. Series includes: Financial records; Minutes and reports; Correspondence; Unpublished studies and reports; Publications; Clippings; Miscellaneous records, n.d., 1945-1978. The fonds also contains photographs primarily related to relief work carried out by Canadian organizations after World War II: clothes distribution centre in Germany, [ca. 1947], officers of the Canadian Christian Council for the Resettlement of Refugees in Bremen-Lesum, Germany, [ca.1950], and group photographs of refugees sponsored to Canada by the CCCRR, 1954; triplets at the AV Hospital (place unknown) who were given layettes by the Lutheran World Service, 1966; and three Chinese refugee families, Hong Kong, [ca. 1970].
Canadian Lutheran World Relief : Canadian Lutheran World Relief was organized in 1946 to aid the people of war- ravaged Europe. Active mainly in Germany and Austria, the organization distributed parcels of food, clothing and other necessities among the needy. When in May, 1947, changes in Canadian immigration policy made it possible for Canadian relatives of refugees in Displaced Person camps in Germany and Austria to bring to Canada their families, the organization became involved primarily in immigration work. In co-operation with German Baptists, Mennonites and Catholics working through the Canadian Christian Council for Resettlement of Refugees, Canadian Lutheran World Relief helped to bring to Canada "Volksdeutsche" and other refugees in German D.P. camps. It extended loans to immigrants, advised them on conditions here and helped them find employment. When in 1950 it became possible for "Reichsdeutsche" to emigrate to Canada, similar aid was extended to them.
By April 1953, Canadian Lutheran World Relief, in co-operation with other church groups working through the Canadian Christian Council for Resettlement of Refugees, had brought some 30,000 immigrants from Europe to Canada, most of them German speaking. By 1967, Canadian Lutheran World Relief had assisted over 22,000 Lutherans in coming to Canada and had extended $3,500,000 in loans to immigrants for fares.
The return of prosperity to Germany and Austria in the 1960's greatly curtailed the immigration work of Canadian Lutheran World Relief. Simultaneously, the organization's relief work greatly expanded. Its Hong Kong work, which began in 1952, in 1969 consisted, among other things, of serving some 20,000 hot snacks daily to children. In 1968 some 197,000 pounds of clothing were shipped to Arab refugees in the Middle East. The agency became extensively involved in relief work in Indonesia and India. Called into life by the desire to aid the people in the homelands from which many of Canada's Lutherans originated, Canadian Lutheran World Relief today serves the needy in all areas of the World.
