The Office of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Operations (OFRRO) was a short-lived organization created during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

. It existed between December 1942 and November 1943, when it was replaced by the

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in November 1943, it was dissolved in September 1948. it became part o ...

(UNRRA).

History

The OFRRO was established in December 1942. It was one of the organizations set up to provide relief to populations suffering from the effects of the war, others being the British Committee on Surpluses, the Inter-Allied Committee on Post-War Requirements, established in September 1941 to estimate the extent of postwar needs and the Middle East Relief and Refugee Administration, which the British set up to operate refugee camps. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

announced on 21 November 1942 that the OFRRO was being established with

Herbert H. Lehman Herbert Henry Lehman (March 28, 1878 – December 5, 1963) was an American Democratic Party politician from New York. He served from 1933 until 1942 as the 45th governor of New York and represented New York State in the U.S. Senate from 194 ...

, the governor of New York State, as its director. Lehman took office on 4 December 1942. Roosevelt laid out the objectives in a letter of 11 December 1942, in which he wrote: The OFRRO took over the Department of State staff working on relief and rehabilitation problems. It also took over leadership of five inter-departmental committees on Food Relief, Agricultural Rehabilitation, Clothing Requirements and Supply, Health and Medical Requirements and Supply and Essential Services and Industries. In 1943

Selskar Gunn Selskar Michael Gunn (25 May 1883 – 2 August 1944) was a public health expert who was a vice-president of the Rockefeller Foundation for many years. He is known for the foundation's innovative program in China that combined improvements to agri ...

of the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

was secretary of Governor Lehman's committee to organize the OFRRO, creating plans that were used in the operations of its successor, the

(UNRRA).

Successor

On 17 June 1943 Lehman outlined the future tasks of the UNRRA, which the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

wanted to establish to organize relief, rehabilitation and supplies. On 9 November 1943 the 44 United and Associated Nations gathered at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

to sign an agreement creating the

(UNRRA), which took over from the earlier organizations. Lehman was the first head of the UNNRA.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT: Organizations established in 1942 Organizations disestablished in 1943 Displaced persons camps in the aftermath of World War II United States and the United Nations