CYIL vol. 9 (2018)

CYIL 9 ȍ2018Ȏ

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: CERTIFICATES AND PASSPORTS OF REFUGEES

2.1 The so-called Russian aid operation The recommendations received a fairly positive response. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was assigned to undertake the task of caring for Russian and Ukrainian refugees by a resolution of the Council of Ministers. 17 The so-called Russian operation ( tzv. ruská pomocná akce ) was carried out as a state task involving various voluntary and charitable associations along with the Czechoslovak Red Cross. 18 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs distributed support and care for the refugees in accordance with the type and recipients of the aid. The ministry used social as well as economic and educational criteria to determine this. The first group consisted of the disabled and sick men and women that were unable to work, along with children of Russian and Ukrainian descent without compulsory school attendance. These were individuals that could not self-sufficiently provide for themselves with work. The elderly, sick, or physically disabled people were given regular aid paid out by the Czechoslovak Red Cross. This organization helped people in need so they could live a dignified life. The Red Cross could reliably control the property situation of the supported refugees through its local bodies, and thus prevent the abuse of social assistance. Other groups were high school students and university students. Both these groups were entitled to constant, direct aid and care. The pupils and university students gained various financial reliefs in order for them to successfully conclude their disrupted school attendance or studies. 19 The last group consisted of refugees that supported themselves with intellectual activities, such as journalists, artists, writers, etc. These persons were provided mainly with ad hoc or individually based benefits. The refugees that could join the workforce deserved a different form of aid. In the summer of 1921, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs started to systematically arrange transports solely from Constantinople, Gallipoli, and Lemnos, as evidenced by a telegram from Václav Girsa 20 on 7 September 1921. 21 From there, Russian and Kuban Cossacks farmers were being shipped via the Red Sea and the Danube River to Czechoslovakia. The costs for the journey were covered by France. The Czechoslovak Embassy in Constantinople was being eagerly reminded in a telegram not to permit the transport of members of military units or persons of extreme left-wing or right-wing political views into Czechoslovakia. In the selection of Russian farmers, the Czechoslovak representation was to rely in particular on the advice of the Cossack Union. According to internal instructions from the ministry, no organs associated with the person of General Wrangle, who commanded the White Army, were to be allowed in exercising any influence on the selection of farmers. The first transport of Russian farmers embarked on 14 November 1921. All 883 persons came from the refugee camp of Kabadja . They were mostly Don Cossacks. Another selection 18 MASARYKOVÁ, A. G. Československý Červený kříž . Praha: Československý Červený kříž, 1935, p. 50. 19 At the beginning, pupils and students had free accommodation and meals. Undergraduates did not pay for enrolling in universities and for exams. Pupils and students were entitled to basic clothing. Everyone used discounts on fares in public transport. 20 A senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, later a plenipotentiary minister of foreign affairs and also an ambassador to Poland. 21 The Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, II section, no. 6228/76. 17 The Archive of the Ministry of Interior, II section, no. 100496. See the decision dated 28 July, case no. 23912/1921.

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