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refugee affairs to provide Christmas
aid for new arrivals in the Land.
More than 150,000 children in
Wuerttemberg-Baden were guests of
American military and civilian per-
sonnel during December. From todd-
lers to 'teen-agers they were enter-
tained a parties, featuring songs,
plays, fairy tale pageants, movies,
and Santa Claus. Gifts included tons,
clothing, and toilet articles. In other
instances where older people from
homes for the aged were feted gifts
included tobacco and cigarettes.
Esslingen's US personnel made a
noteworthy effort to spread the Amer-
ican variety of good will toward
men. Parties were given for more
than 8,000 children in the Kreis. Three
thousand were taken care of by the
Military Police school in Nellingen
where the MP's had spent months
carefully fashioning toys. The Depend-
ent's Club in Stuttgart raised money
and obtained gifts for all the 100
children who live in one of the
town's reconverted bunkers.
THE BIGGEST SHIPMENT of ice
cream ever sent to the US Zone
arrived in Bremerhaven late in De-
cember as part of the port of embark-
ation's Christmas party fare for ap-
proximately 105,000 German children.
Payment for this favorite American
dessert came from BPE's GYA holiday
party fund which popular subscrip-
tion shot to $25,000, $5,000 over
the goal.
Bremerhaven started last September
to make preparations for the 250 holi-
day parties for German children rang-
ing from one to 15 years. Each youth-
ful guest received as gifts an article
of clothing, a toy, and a ditty bag
containing useful toilet articles, and
candy; all these gifts were festively
wrapped by dependents.
Many individuals and one town in
the United States participated in
Bremerhaven's gift-giving. Members
of the command wrote asking fam-
ilies, friends, churches and welfare
organizations to contribute. The Elks
Club of Massachusetts sent several
tons of toys, clothing, and foodstuffs;
while each person in the little town
of Gettysburg, S. D., sent one pound
of presents.
Soldiers and employees at BPE en-
gineering depots and craft shops
made 9,500 toys. The 100,000 ditty
bags to hold small utilitarian gifts
were made by American dependent
wives and children.
C HRISTMAS DINNER parties for
C more than 57,000 German and DP
children in the US Sector of Berlin
were provided through contributions
from American military and civilian
CHRISTMAS PARTY-Children of in-
digenous employes of Office of Mili-
tary Government, Bavaria, are shown
at Christmas party with St. Nikolaus
and Gov. Murray D. Van Wagoner,
director of OMGB. Eight hundred
children were entertained with a
lunch, gifts and movies. (PIO OMGB)
personnel to the Berlin Command
Christmas Festivities fund. The dinners
were served over a three-day period
at Army unit messes, orphanages,
schools, hospitals, and GYA centers.
Approximately 50,000 toys were or-
dered by the GYA Branch of Berlin
Command for these functions, and
German translations of "The Night
Before Christmas" were distributed.
The Community Chest of Berlin,
initiated by the American Women's
Club, collected more than $31,000.
Shoes for Berlin's needy children
was one of the major projects of the
drive.
In addition to the official Be
Command dinner parties, more t
2,000 German children were ent
tained in American homes in Berl
during the Christmas season. Ind
vidual units and organizations sul
as the 279th Station hospital startJ
making plans for German children
September, receiving packages fro
the United States containing mai
than 1,500 pairs of shoes, sufficl
clothing to outfit 2,000 children, a
garments for another 1,000.
Also   during   December    ti
20,000,000th  privately-donated
parcel to reach Germany from
United States arrived in Brem
Sixteen ships brought 387,000 s
of gift parcels into Bremen d
the month, while during Novem
450,000 sacks had arrived at the
These packages were forwarded
German homes in the Ameri
British, and French Zones.
The packages are not to be con
ed with parcels distributed by
ganized relief agencies such as C
and CRALOG, but are almost entir
unsolicited gifts from  private
viduals in the United States, addr
ed to specific persons in Germa
All the proceeds of last summ
spectacular Tattoos held in Be
and Dortmund by the Rhine Arm'
the Rhine were made available to
British Military Government for
benefit of needy German children.
A large proportion of the mo
which amounted to almost ha]
million marks, has been used
purchase blankets for distribution
the four big German welfare org
zations in Berlin and in the R
The remainder was to send nt
German children on vacations to
seaside or into the country.
Termination of Servic
The Bizonal Economic Council
notified by  the Bipartite Co
Office that the continued em
ment of those senior officials
had not received political clear
by the council by 21 November,
deadline previously set by Mill
Government, would not be san
ed. It was directed that the se
of those officials be terminated.
INFORMATION BULLETIN
26
13 JANUARY
I