Feeding an Adversary | The Great Famine | American Experience | PBS

Five million Russians died during the Great Famine of 1921. Without Herbert Hoover, it would have been more. Official website: The little-known story of the American effort to relieve starvation in the new Soviet Russia in 1921, “The Great Famine“ is a documentary about the worst natural disaster in Europe since the Black Plague in the Middle Ages. Five million Russians died. Half a world away, Americans responded with a massive two-year relief campaign, championed by Herbert Hoover, director of the American Relief Administration known as the ARA. Based on “The Big Show in Bololand“ by Bertrand M. Patenaude, “The Great Famine“ tells a riveting story of American engagement with a distant and desperate people -- an engagement hailed for its efficiency, grit, and generosity — within the larger story of the Russian Revolution and the roots of the rivalry that would dominate the second half of the 20th century. This pr