How American women rebuilt France.

• Position: The Great War - American Women Rebuilding France, 1917-1924

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The exhibition "American Women Rebuilding France, 1917-1924" showcases vintage photographs and rare silent film footage that bring to life the extraordinary work undertaken by 350 female volunteers who left comfortable lives in the U.S. to help the war-ravaged civilian population of northeastern France. The dynamic leader of this effort was Anne Morgan, daughter of financier J. Pierpont Morgan; she collected private funds and founded the American Committee for Devastated France.

While the U.S. did not enter World War I until April 1917--three years after it started and a year before it ended--many Americans volunteered to help relief efforts in Europe during the early years of the conflict through the American Field Service, the Commission for Relief in Belgium (directed by future U.S. president Herbert Hoover), and the American Red Cross, among other like organizations.

The American Committee for Devastated France had its origins in the Civilian Division of the American Fund for French Wounded (est. 1916) and was organized in 1918 to provide emergency relief and restoration aid to the...