Xiaoyang Hu

The word “World” in the title of “Lutheran World Federation” 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 “real-world application” of international cooperations, along with the public-private partnerships involved, in a politically unstable situation after WWII.

The International Cooperation section would focus on a couple of aspects:

• How was LWF established? What’s its relationship with other Lutheran organizations? What was Howard Hong’s role in it? Why is it not mentioned on LWF official website?
• 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?
• How did the LWF interact with the local German Lutheran Churches?
• How did the LWF cooperated with Churches-in-Exile?
• How did the LWF’s resettlement programs carry out with the help of Northfield or Minnesota local policies/commissions?
• What was the connection between St. Olaf and LWF? What was Howard Hong’s role in it?

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 As we read more through the historical documents and books written, we hope to create a historical narrative of this missing parts of the history.