THE PROBLEM OF RENDERING ASSISTANCE 285
Central Office for Inter-Church Aid at Geneva.1 Yet up to now
measures have not been taken to bring about an international
and interconfessional relief action of a purely charitable nature.
So far assistance has been rendered exclusively on an individual
basis, especially as regards the so-called Torgsin operations.
Moscow's attitude towards this individual relief is certainly
of the greatest interest. At first suspicion was displayed^ and
various difficulties were made for the recipients of food or
money. Soon, however, it was grasped that this relief to
individuals could be admirably exploited to obtain foreign
currency and thus to improve the Soviet balance of payments.
New tactics were adopted. Instead of being merely food parcels
(which had not the slightest interest for Moscow, for, as has
been shown elsewhere, Moscow is not interested in the preserva-
tion of individual lives), the Torgsin presents became a financial
operation which was regularly to provide the State with
1 Concerning this great organization which has its headquarters at
Geneva, its proceedings up to the present day have been so noteworthy that
we must here, if only in few words, draw attention to it.
In 1930, when many reports, all agreeing about the distress prevailing in
Soviet Russia, had been received in Geneva, the European Central Office for
Inter-Church Aid summoned its first international and interconfessional
conference at Basle, at which there were representatives of more than twenty
societies already giving practical help—and not only representatives of
Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist and Baptist, but also of Anglican and
Orthodox organizations.
The conference sought to co-ordinate the work of already existing relief
societies. The European Central Office for Inter-Church Aid was entrusted
^rlch this task, and an International Russian Executive was formed, on which
the European Central Office, the Relief Committee of the Archbishop of
Canterbury, and continental organizations were represented. The Bishop of
Zagreb and Professor BulgakofT were also members of it. How successful
was the work of the European Central Office may be seen from the fact that
it collected several hundred thousand Swiss francs, which were sent through
Torgsin to individuals in the Soviet Union. On the initiative of the European
Central Office another specially representative Commission was formed
later which included representatives of the World Alliance for International
Friendship through the Churches, the Universal Christian Council for Life
and Work, and the European Central Office.
The achievements of the European Central Office for Inter-Church Aid*
and above all its widespread influence in Anglo-Saxon countries, are ulti-
mately due to the great international reputation and the untiring zeal of
Dr. Keller, for many years its leader.