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This dissertation contributes to literature on postwar philanthropy and the Franco-American relationship. It examines the private voluntary relief organization, American Aid to France (AAF), which provided emergency supplies, rehabilitative services, and assisted in the reconstruction of France following the Second World War. Unlike other devastated European countries, Charles de Gaulle did not invite the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) to host a program, which limited France’s participation in the transnational relief movement of the immediate postwar period and allowed AAF to become the principal foreign private voluntary aid agency operating in Liberated France. From 1944 to 1956, AAF asserted that its assistance reflected the strength of the Franco-American alliance, and kinship felt between two countries with a shared history of liberal revolution and republicanism. AAF’s statements expressing “goodwill” and “historical friendship” towards France rapidly began to assume a more political tone as Cold War tensions intensified. From 1947 onward, AAF became increasingly outspoken in its support for capitalism, democracy, and international cooperation. These statements were crafted for, and appealed to, U.S. authorities who believed France was the key to containing communism in Europe. In reality, AAF’s main concern was redressing the destruction of Normandy caused by Allied bombing campaigns, and the organization showed no hesitation to work with mayors from across the political spectrum in devastated French communities to achieve this goal. AAF’s private voluntary status shielded the organization from French criticisms of Americanization chiefly aimed at the Marshall Plan. This dissertation demonstrates that AAF was part of an independent, robust private voluntary relief sphere that contributed to Europe’s recovery, and helped citizens in the United States and France come to terms with the transition from war to peace. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation contributes to literature on postwar philanthropy and Franco-American relations. It examines American Aid to France (AAF), one of hundreds of U.S. private voluntary relief organizations founded during the Second World War to help devastated civilians. Operating from 1944 to 1956, AAF’s efforts to provide emergency supplies, rehabilitative services, and assist in the reconstruction of Liberated France was a significant private affirmation of the Franco-American alliance during a period of increasingly tense international relations. Private voluntary relief organizations have been overlooked in scholarship in favour of larger agencies such as the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), which has resulted in a considerable emphasis on transnationalism in the literature on postwar relief. Examining Franco-American relations through the prism of AAF’s relief reveals that a dynamic alternative network of private assistance, which operated firmly outside of the transnational relief movement, contributed in meaningful ways to France’s recovery.

Thesis deals with the postwar economical development in Czechoslovakia, in particular it covers the period from 1945 to 1948. At first it focuses on situation right after the end of WWII, especially on the conditions ruling in the Czechoslovak economy and on possible directions of its future economical restoration. The crucial part in this issue belonged to aid received from international organization UNNRA. The courses of UNNRA's aid as well as the supply of its goods are described in detail. Thesis then follows the political development in postwar period, it mainly concentrates on the acceptance of The Kosice Government Programme and its economical consequences in form of land and monetary reform. Special chapter is then dedicated to nationalization. After parliamentary elections in 1946 thesis focuses on two-year plan of economical restoration and its particular aspects. In relation to unsatisfactory conditions in 1947 thesis contains the reasons for rejection of Marshall Plan. Thesis ends with the February 1948economical changes and the commence of the communist era.

The Organization of Repatriation of Displaced Persons in Czechoslovakia after World War II. Bc. et Bc. Jana Kasíková Abstract Analyzing the social aspects of the repatriation process of those forced out of their home countries to Czechoslovakia during WW2, this thesis first describes the communication and cooperation of the Czechoslovakian exile government in London with international organizations, particularly with UNRRA and SHAEF. Furthermore, the social, health, transportation and financial impact of creating and maintaining the supporting structures for repatriating displaced persons is explored, with both governmental and non-governmental perspective. Special attention is given to the participation of the general public, e.g. donations, volunteering, media coverage and public relations. The final chapter then explores the organizational structure of the repatriation process in Czechoslovakia. Specific communication between Czechoslovakian and French institutions is presented as an insight into international cooperation. Keywords: repatriation, the return after the Second World War, Displaced Persons, UNRRA, post-war media, relation of repatriation with France

In the years immediately following the Second World War, the main part of Latvian literature was produced by writers living outside Latvia. To this day Latvian literature continues to be written outside Latvia, albeit to a much smaller extent. This study examines those Latvian novels, written outside Latvia after the Second World War, which depict the realities of the early years of exile. The aim of the study is to describe the image of the world of exile as depicted in these novels. Borrowing from Bakhtin's concept of the chronotope, images relating to time and space in these novels are examined in order to discern a mental topography of exile common to all these novels - a chronotope of exile. The novels are read as part of a collective narrative, produced by a particular social group in unordinary historical circumstances. The novels are regarded as this social group’s common perception of its own experience of this historical reality. The early years of exile fall into two distinct periods: first, the period of flight from Latvia and life in and around the Displaced Persons camps of postwar Germany; second, the early years of settling in a new country of residence after emigration from Germany. A model of the perceived world is constructed in order to compare these two periods, as well as their divergence from a standard perception of oneself in the world. This model consists of various time-spaces radiating concentrically out from the individual – ranging from the physically and psychologically near-lying time-spaces of one’s personal and intimate life, through everyday social time-spaces, as well as formal societal time-spaces, to the more distant abstract and conceptual perceptions of one’s place in the universe. Basic human concepts such as home, family, work, intimate relationships, social administration, and most notably the homeland – Latvia – are plotted at various points within these models. Divergences between the models describing the perception of time and space in the two early periods of exile thus become apparent.

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The thesis explores in depth the negotiations to create the United Nations Organization through which Stalin sought to enhance the USSRs power and prestige via traditional, military-oriented means. Although the Kremlin was relatively successful at maximizing Soviet power within the structure of the UNO, its inflexibility on issues such as Poland, Latin American membership, and other issues antagonized its wartime allies, the USA and Britain. This developing fracture seriously undermined cooperation among the victorious great powers both within the new organization and more broadly. As a result, the process of founding the UNO proved to be both a significant cause and reflection of the degeneration of the wartime Grand Alliance into the Cold War. / History