Between Bombs and Good Intentions

Rainer Baudendistel, a historian by profession, worked for more than 25 years in humanitarian affairs, first for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), then for the Swiss government. Since 1985 he has specialized in the Horn of Africa. He spent several years in Ethiopia and currently lives in Eritrea.

• List of IllustrationsList of TablesForewordPrefaceMapIntroductionObjectives and MethodologyHistoriography on the SubjectSourcesTransliterationChapter 1. Switzerland, the ICRC and the Red Cross Movement at the Time of the Italo-Ethiopian WarSwitzerland and the War in East-AfricaThe International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): Activities, Composition and OrganisationUn posto al sole for the Italian Red CrossRise and Fall of the Ethiopian Red CrossAmbiguous Relations with the League of Red Cross SocietiesChapter 2. An African Solferino: the Emergency Medical Relief Operation in EthiopiaHealth in Ethiopia at the Outbreak of the WarMedical Services in the Ethiopian ArmyEthiopian Efforts to Provide Medical AssistanceThe ICRC and the Emergency Medical Relief OperationRed Cross Field Hospitals in EthiopiaA Meeting Near Korem, or the Disparity between Needs and ReliefChapter 3. Red Cross Work Challenged: the Respect of the EmblemEthiopia’s Respect of the Emblem: a Barrage of Accusations, but Little SubstanceThe Respect of the Emblem by Italy: Red Cross Hospitals under FireBehind the Smokescreen: a Surprising DiscoveryChapter 4. The Heart of the Matter: Ensuring the Protection of the EmblemConsequences of the Bombings for the Red Cross Units in the FieldPrevention is Better than Cure: Notification to Italy of Medical Installations under Red Cross ProtectionTransmission of Complaints Regarding Violations of the Geneva ConventionFirst Steps in Humanitarian DiplomacyEnsuring the Application of the Geneva Convention through an InquiryProtecting the Interests of War Victims through Humanitarian Diplomacy – a Trip to Rome (24 March–1 April 1936)‘Quella Benedetta Neutralità …’ The White Book on the War – between a Cover-up and a Contribution to PeaceRevising the 1929 Convention to Reflect the Experiences of the WarSidney Brown, another Casualty of the WarHumanitarian Action and JusticeChapter 5. Prisoners of War: Propaganda Prevails over RealityCharges and Legal QuestionsPrisoners on the Italian SidePrisoners of War on the Ethiopian SideThe ICRC and the Protection of Prisoners of WarWrong Assumptions Lead to Wrong ConclusionsChapter 6. ‘Rain that Kills’: the ICRC and Fascist Italy’s Chemical WarfareChemical Warfare between the First World War and the Italo-Ethiopian WarPoison Gas in the Italo-Ethiopian WarThe ICRC and Chemical Warfare until 1935First Reports on the Use of Poison Gas: Discovering the TruthExperience in the Field with Poison GasSilence on Chemical Warfare during the Mission to RomeThe Defeat of the League of Nations on the Question of Poison GasThe League of Nations and the ICRC: Collective Security and Humanitarian ConcernsThe ICRC Response: a Request for Gas MasksBetween the Spirit of 1918 and the Letter of the Law of 1929An Intervention to the Italian Red Cross: Too Little, Too LateThe Red Cross Movement Bows to the InevitableSummary and ConclusionThe Belligerents and International Humanitarian LawHumanitarian Action in TransitionThe ICRC and Its Humanitarian ActionThe ICRC and Fascist Italy ‘We didn’t know the truth’?AppendicesAppendix 1. Chronology of Political and Military EventsAppendix 2. GlossaryAppendix 3. Members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in October 1935Appendix 4. Red Cross Field Hospitals on the Ethiopian Side during the Italo-Ethiopian Wara. Field Hospitals under the Ethiopian Red Crossb. Foreign National Red Cross Field HospitalsAppendix 5. Bombings of Red Cross Field Hospitals and the Transport Unit during the Italo-Ethiopian WarBibliographyIndex

"This book, which inaugurates a promising series … is well documented and very clear in its presentation. …a welcome enrichment of Ethiopian studies."  ·  Aethiopica"The author is well-equipped to tell this story. A historian by profession, he also has rich experience in humanitarian relief work in the Horn of Africa, including several years of service in the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The book is rich in documentation, with the author having tapped almost all the pertinent archival material in Italy and Geneva and having interviewed a number of eyewitnesses. Copiously illustrated and with annexes that set the chronological framework, the work highlights the principal characters."  ·  African Studies Review