Lacemaking, Women and Humanitarian Aid

Recent histories of humanitarianism argue that the First World War was a turning point in the development of modern humanitarianism, but they are often limited to the analysis of food and medical assistance. By investigating handicraft programmes, this paper will demonstrate the continuity of historical practices and nostalgia for the pre-industrial artisan way of life in contemporary humanitarian reform. Lace-aid programmes, set up to support Belgian lacemakers during the First World War, serve as a case study. These programmes saved the renowned Belgian lace industry in the First World War, while simultaneously ensuring the wartime employment of Belgian lacemakers in German-occupied Belgium and among Belgian refugees in Holland, France and the UK. The produced lace became known as war lace, as its unique iconography referred directly to the conflict. Combining archival, collection and practice-based research, the results will impact the histories of humanitarianism, textiles, and women. 


Dr Wendy Wiertz is a senior research fellow at the University of Huddersfield with a special interest in material culture, cultural heritage, gender history and history of humanitarianism. In her current project, supported by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship, Wendy focuses on humanitarian organisations who saved the renowned Belgian lace industry in the First World War, while simultaneously ensuring the wartime employment of Belgian lacemakers in German-occupied Belgium and among Belgian refugees in Holland, France and the UK. The produced lace became known as war lace, as its unique iconography referred directly to the conflict. Prior to this, Wendy completed her PhD in Art History (KU Leuven, Belgium, 2018) and curated two exhibitions. She was a Fulbright and honorary Belgian American Educational Foundation scholar at Columbia University in 2018-19 and an academic visitor at the University of Oxford in 2019-20.

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