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Information bulletin
No. 126 (January 13, 1948)
American Good Will at Christmas time, pp. 25-26
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Page 26
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
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