UNRRA and Support for Science

Abstract

The Second World War was the most devastating war in history.  Millions of people died, countless cities were destroyed and economic recovery was one of the most important problems dealt with in past-war conferences. The US needed an economically stable Europe, and for this reason they started preparing a recovery program before the war came to an end. One of the most important programs was UNRRA. UNRRA consisted of two parts – relief and rehabilitation. An important part of rehabilitation was the Fellowships Program, which was the first international scholarship program after the Second World War. This program provided scholarships for specialists from every country that received help from UNRRA. These specialists returned to their own country after their residency and helped with the recovery. This was the main reason for the Fellowships program.