{"id":5483,"date":"2026-07-08T14:13:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T19:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/?page_id=5483"},"modified":"2026-07-09T11:15:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T16:15:15","slug":"ella-nielsen","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/ella-nielsen\/","title":{"rendered":"Ella Nielsen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; min_height=&#8221;623px&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_post_title _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.7&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; title_font_size=&#8221;51px&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_testimonial author=&#8221;Ella Nielsen&#8221; portrait_url=&#8221;https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-1.08.48-PM.jpg&#8221; portrait_width=&#8221;110px&#8221; portrait_height=&#8221;110px&#8221; content_tablet=&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The word %22World%22 in the title of %22Lutheran World Federation%22 is what caught my eye on this project. I was curious about how St. Olaf people get involved in an international project and also excited to dig deep into this %22real-world application%22 of international cooperations in a politically unstable situation after WWII.<\/p>\n<p>The International Cooperation section would focus on a couple of aspects:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How was LWF established? What&#8217;s its relationship with other Lutheran organizations? What was Howard Hong&#8217;s role in it? Why is it not mentioned on LWF official website?<\/li>\n<li>How did LWF operate under authorities, such as UNRRA\/IRO, the allied military forces and the US government? How did the immigration policies in the US affect the LWF Service to Refugee?<\/li>\n<li>How did the LWF interact with the local German Lutheran Churches?<\/li>\n<li>How did the LWF cooperated with Churches-in-Exile?<\/li>\n<li>How did the LWF&#8217;s resettlement programs carry out with the help of Northfield or Minnesota local policies\/commissions?<\/li>\n<li>What was the connection between St. Olaf and LWF? What was Howard Hong&#8217;s role in it?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To answer these questions, my colleagues and I have together visited a few archives as well as interviewing a few related persons. As we read more through the historical documents and books written, we hope to create a historical narrative of this missing parts of the history.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; content_phone=&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The word %22World%22 in the title of %22Lutheran World Federation%22 is what caught my eye on this project. I was curious about how St. Olaf people get involved in an international project and also excited to dig deep into this %22real-world application%22 of international cooperations in a politically unstable situation after WWII.<\/p>\n<p>The International Cooperation section would focus on a couple of aspects:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How was LWF established? What&#8217;s its relationship with other Lutheran organizations? What was Howard Hong&#8217;s role in it? Why is it not mentioned on LWF official website?<\/li>\n<li>How did LWF operate under authorities, such as UNRRA\/IRO, the allied military forces and the US government? How did the immigration policies in the US affect the LWF Service to Refugee?<\/li>\n<li>How did the LWF interact with the local German Lutheran Churches?<\/li>\n<li>How did the LWF cooperated with Churches-in-Exile?<\/li>\n<li>How did the LWF&#8217;s resettlement programs carry out with the help of Northfield or Minnesota local policies\/commissions?<\/li>\n<li>What was the connection between St. Olaf and LWF? What was Howard Hong&#8217;s role in it?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To answer these questions, my colleagues and I have together visited a few archives as well as interviewing a few related persons. As we read more through the historical documents and books written, we hope to create a historical narrative of this missing parts of the history.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; content_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.7&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; body_font_size=&#8221;15px&#8221; body_line_height=&#8221;1.8em&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#FFFFF0&#8243; min_height=&#8221;364px&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; border_width_all=&#8221;3px&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;#3E505C&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was initially drawn to this project because of the opportunity to work with archives. As an aspiring librarian, I jumped at the chance to explore primary documents. What I found while exploring the archives of The Hong Kierkegaard Library, St. John\u2019s Lutheran Church, and the Northfield Historical Center was countless documents showcasing the care and generosity of those involved with the LWF. People, from those who worked directly with the LWF to those who donated or provided assurances, gave time, money, resources, and spiritual guidance to help those whom they had never met and who lived across the globe from them. I also saw Displaced Persons describe their experiences in their own words. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As someone who was unfamiliar with the history of displacement after WWII, some of my initial research questions were: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why is the history of the work done by the LWF important to preserve? <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is significant about their efforts to provide aid?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The process of reading the accounts from Displaced Persons and writing a page on DP Lived Experiences in the camps revealed to me the dire conditions they were living under. Torn from their homes, DPs had to rebuild their lives while facing the uncertainties of resettlement. By diving into the lived experiences of DPs, I gained a deep understanding of the significance of LWF&#8217;s work in making life in DP camps sustainable and ensuring these people&#8217;s futures through resettlement. The preservation of this history serves as a lamppost lest we ever forget the importance of aiding our fellow human. Because of the work of the LWF, families were able to rebuild their lives and prosper for generations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was initially drawn to this project because of the opportunity to work with archives. As an aspiring librarian, I jumped at the chance to explore primary documents. What I found while exploring the archives of The Hong Kierkegaard Library, St. John\u2019s Lutheran Church, and the Northfield Historical Center was countless documents showcasing the care [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5723,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5483","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5723"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5483"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5840,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5483\/revisions\/5840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}