FAWCO Special Report -- Celebrating FAWCO's 75th Anniversary

On Tuesday, May 5, 1931, American women from seven European clubs gathered in London to hold the first conference of the American Women's Clubs in Europe. Mrs. Hoover wrote a letter of encouragement to the group from the White House and Mrs. Dawes, the wife of the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, sent her regrets but invited the women to tea on the following day. Caroline Curtis Brown, president of the London club, called the meeting to order and began the discussions on a very diverse range of topics.

Issues regarding the general problems of the young clubs - membership drives, dues, finances and the sponsoring of American artists were discussed. The London club at the time had over 1500 members, a magnificent clubhouse and a thriving community service program. Problems regarding the citizenship of women marrying American men were mentioned, as the women had to give up their own nationality and citizenship rights when doing so.

It was hoped that a federation of the clubs would have more power to address humanitarian and philanthropic needs, as well as those of the member clubs. Mrs. Brown stated that "one of the purposes of the federation would be to prevent war ever taking place again." They felt that was one of the ways in which they could be of the greatest service to the human race. One member commented that "as the custodians of children during their formative years, the privileges and responsibilities of womanhood are great indeed. It is perhaps not too much to say that the future peace of the world depends largely, if not entirely, on women's attitude to this vital question." The women met again the following year in Berlin with representatives from Antwerp, Berlin, The Hague, London, Paris, Vienna and Zürich attending. It was written in the charter that its primary objective was the furtherance of international peace. However, the clubs were only able to meet seven more times until the next war began. At the conference in Vienna in 1933, an ugly demonstration by Hitler's military forces created an atmosphere of tension that only emphasised the importance of the conferences' themes: disarmament and the need to educate children to think tolerantly and to develop an international outlook.

In 1934 the clubs convened in Paris, again discussing the need to build peace-loving attitudes in children and the need for unbiased history books. Birth control was also discussed and advocated. The following year at the conference at The Hague three new members, Denmark, Oslo and Hamburg, were included. Adherence to the World Court of Justice was strongly urged as a means for strengthening the machinery to obtain peace. Objections were raised against the common practice of military training for the young. The problem of the ambiguous status of citizenship of American women married to foreigners was introduced.

The name of the federation was changed to the Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas in order to permit clubs beyond the borders of Europe. In 1936 a successful conference was held in Copenhagen in the presence of the Honorable Ruth Bryan Owen, the American Ambassador to Denmark. The Equal Rights Bill and the problem of educating American children overseas were discussed. However, the international scene that year was somber, forcing many Americans to return to the States. Even the Paris club was forced to close its splendid clubhouse.

At the Federation's sixth conference at the Hotel Baur au Lac in Zürich in 1937, the FAWCO acronym was adopted. In addition to discussing the problems of "stateless" women married to foreigners, attention was drawn to the club's past achievements; the ongoing scholarship program, the excellent quarterly news "Bulletin" and the intangible benefits of warm, broadening friendships crossing national boundaries.

The 1938 conference in Hamburg proved to be difficult for the members attending. German officialdom arranged sumptuous outings and entertainment at the theater and opera, but blatant militarism and greetings of "Heil Hitler" made the delegates feel ill at ease. Child-labor regulations, the Equal Rights Bill and a possible annual Peace luncheon on November 11 were discussed. Despite mounting international tensions FAWCO managed to hold its scheduled 1939 conference in the London clubhouse. The problem of indigent and helpless Americans stranded abroad was discussed. It was recommended that the American government provide its consulates with funds for such emergencies.

Stockholm was scheduled to host the FAWCO Conference in 1940 and Oslo in '41 but with the declaration of war all plans had to be abandoned. The Zürich club continued to be active, as Switzerland was not at war, helping the Red Cross work with prisoners-of-war. The Hague and Oslo clubs managed to maintain a sort of identity. Meetings were held in secret and club moneys were taken out of banks and entrusted to individual members. Club records became a hazard and, for the most part, were destroyed.

The great bulk of FAWCO's archives had fortunately been kept in London where they escaped destruction. What is known of the 1939 conference was contained in a condensed version of the minutes, together with the Bulletin report. At that time no one could have foreseen the occupation of Norway and, despite efforts since the war, no trace of their FAWCO material has been found.

Irmingard Zahn commented at the recent AGM that as President of the Dublin club she had gone though old boxes of files and had found the original charter of the London Club and had returned it personally to the club at the following conference. An exciting discovery thanks to Irmingard's good organizational skills!!

We are grateful to the members of the Archive Committee for painstakingly finding and preserving what is left of the original material of the history of FAWCO. Many wonderful pictures and FAWCO memories have been gathered and printed in the 75th Anniversary Yearbook and each FAWCO club was given a copy. I encourage each of you to take it home, read it and cherish it. You will be proud of what these brave and determined women attempted to accomplish and will hopefully be equally committed to promoting international understanding and world peace. As FAWCO's present President Emily van Earten writes, "FAWCO's mission remains as relevant and vital in the 21st Century as it was in the 20th. We are committed to another seventy-five years of positive thought and action."

In that spirit I would like to bring your attention to two anti-war organizations suggested by the Peace Through Knowledge Committee of FAWCO. CODEPINK is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement that can be contacted through their website at www.codepinkalert.org. WOMEN SAY NO TO WAR can be contacted through their website at www.womensaynotowar.org. The two groups are co-sponsoring a Mother's Day March in Washington D.C. to promote peace. The women also recently presented 100,000 signatures on a Call For Peace petition to the White House.

I am encouraged by this display of activism by women's groups to inspire a "community of peacemakers through creative campaigns and a commitment to non-violence." Anyone who has been following the arrest of the "Granny Brigade" in Manhattan should also feel a burst of pride for their defiance and spirit. They were arrested for blocking the entrance to an Army recruitment facility when actually it was they themselves who had attempted to enlist. During their court appearance one of the grannies was asked if she was prepared for military service. She had calmly replied that yes, she was - she had just made it through a difficult divorce!! Knowing chuckles and grins passed through the surrounding crowd..

In closing I would like to share with you part of a poem from Mattie Stepanek - a child poet and peace activist who was close to President Carter. Mattie's books of poetry were on the top of the New York Time's best sellers list. Their co-authored book has just been released called Just Peace: A Message of Hope that contains their letters of correspondence.

.....and now, let us pray, differently, yet together, Before there is no earth, no life, no chance for peace.......