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Exhibition Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I

Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I

Lest They Perish

W. B. King, artist. Lest They Perish Campaign for $30,000,000—American Committee for Relief in the Near East—Armenia-Greece-Syria-Persia. New York: Conwell Graphic Companies, 1917. Color lithograph poster. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (013.00.00)
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Lest They Perish

Starting in 1915, the American Committee for Relief in the Near East sent millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, Persian, and other minorities in the Ottoman Empire. The Committee was established after U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Henry Morgenthau reported on the suffering of these peoples to his friends and philanthropic groups in the United States. It sought to help victims of wartime deportation and starvation in Ottoman territories. The organization still exists today as the Near East Foundation, which conducts development assistance in the region.

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