A Second Visit to the ICRC Museum, Geneva : Fouad Kronfol

Many years ago we visited the newly opened Red Cross museum in Geneva and were very impressed with its exhibits and overall installation. On 8 May as we came out of our hotel in Geneva we were surprised to see a huge 5-7 meter balloon in the small square beside lake Geneva with Red Cross signals all over it. The kiosk set up informed us that this was the anniversary of the Red Cross and all over Geneva there were manifestations celebrating the occasion. We decided to re-visit the museum and spent a delightful few hours enjoying its contents.

The ICRC museum sits atop a promontory across the street from the Palais des Nations, the UN Headquarters in Geneva. It is a modern museum with much of its permanent exhibits in interactive mode.It has different sections relating to the main preoccupations of the Red Cross mandate; emergency relief; family reunification; returnees and repatriation; prisoners; etc.Unfortunately I took very few photos of most sections either because it was too dark or there were too many visitors.

The ICRC HQ and Museum seen from below.

We first visited their current temporary exhibit which consisted of large size photographs by various artists depicting "the knocks of life" showing portraits of people who have suffered in one form or another from conflicts and/or dangerous situations. Some of the photos are shown here.

Ukranians displaced by the conflict

Two Africans fleeing strife     

Concentration camp survivors

Drifters and such    

Concentration camp survivors

Young (child) warriors

Lost in reverie about a missing homeland

Brazil..retired sex workers

African young men as refugees

One of the more impressive sections had a series of items that prisoners had constructed using whatever materials they were allowed to have access to. Of these items the most spectacular was this mosque made by prisoners in Bangladesh. This work stood out as the most elaborate and attractive piece in the exhibit.

Mosque built by Bangladeshi prisoners

Another very touching section was largely devoted to the Rwanda genocide and its effects on the population. Within this section was a very impressive gallery of photos of young Rwandan children who were either orphans or had been separated from their families.

An interesting cover from Romania. The subject was the 23rd.international conference of the Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Lion societies that was held in Bucharest on 4 October 1977.I have seen very few philatelic materials that depicted the three" arms" of the humanitarian organization. The envelope has the imprint of a Romanian stamp issued for the occasion as well as the actual stamp (on the left side). The cachet also shows a colorful design for the conference to which was attached a philatelic exhibition. The letter was sent from Bucharest to Santiago, Chile. An additional 10 Leu stamp is affixed in order to bring the total to the required postage rate.

From Finland this is a cover with a set of three stamps issued to commemorate the Red Cross on its 80th anniversary in 1977. The letter was post marked on 25 November 1957 from Bromarf and addressed to London, UK. Note the sender typed on the front that this was the First Day of Issue.On the top right it is handwritten that the set is catalogued as being from B145 to B147, with a value of 9.40 (not clear what currency). It is a shame that the letter was badly opened resulting in small damage to the envelope, and thus its value.

This envelope is from Honduras. It has three stamps affixed one of which is a commemoration of the Red Cross on 7 February 1941.The letterhead is that of a branch of the Banco Atlantida and was addressed to the Abbot Laboratories in Chicago, Illinois. Strangley there is no post mark on the front of the cover to indicate either the date of sending nor the receiving of the post. The brown strip on the left is likely the result of the letter being opened for censorship and resealed with tape.

Here is a First Day Cover from Austria that commemorates the 20th international Red Cross conference held in that country. The stamp is a simple but stark black background with the red cross emblem. The cachet reproduces the stamp. It was post marked on 1 October 1965 but the location is not visible, probably Vienna.

This cover is from Sweden and commemorates the Red Cross with a simple stamp issued for the occasion as well as another regular postage stamp to bring the toal to the required postal rate. The three post marks show the letter was mailed from Stockholm on 24 August 1983, but there is no addressee shown.It was most likely a cover for philatelic purposes only and was purchased by a collector for the price of 1.50 Kroner.

From Chile we have this cover loaded with 8 stamps, one of which commemorates the Red Cross.Note the stamp's design places the red cross on the emblem of human rights. The letter was addressed to Karachi, Pakistan.

This cover from Jamaica has three stamps commemorating the Red Cross Centenary in 1963 as well as another stamp related to the country's independence.It is difficult to read the three post marks except for the word Jamaica. Neither the date nor the town of issue are visible. It was addressed to Toronto, Canada.

The last item is another First Day Cover with a stamp issued to commemorate the Red Cross issued from the USA. The inscription of the stamp reads, "Honoring the International Red Cross founded in 1864." The cachet shows the original arm band that was first used in the war between Denmark and Prussia in 1864 with the photo of Henri Dunant the Swiss founder of the humanitarian movement. The cover was postmarked on 21 November 1952 in New York and addressed to Toronto, Ontario, in Canada.