1870–1871: the Franco-Prussian war! A terrible event which shook all Europe; the slaughter of battle, blood, suffering, hundreds of thousands of prisoners, privation both for civilian populations and the military forces—horrors which, nevertheless, gave rise to an entirely new phenomenon of capital importance in the history of humanity. It was a war which marked the beginning of the great universal movement of Red Cross solidarity.

In our October and November issues we published detailed articles on the relief work undertaken by the Red Cross in Jordan. We stated that a new phase, begun on 1 November, would last for several weeks, and we underlined the scope and effectiveness of the action.

At the invitation of the German Red Cross in the Federal Republic of Germany, the President of the ICRC, Mr. Marcel A. Naville, together with the ICRC Delegate-General for Europe, Mr. Melchior Borsinger, went to Bonn on 14 November for a five-day visit. He there met Dr. Gustav Heinemann, President of the Republic, and several members of the Government.

The ICRC Relief Service sent several consignments of relief supplies in October 1970.

The Venezuelan Red Cross received eight first-aid kits, for a total value of 1,360 Swiss francs. Medicaments worth 23,600 Swiss francs, donated by the ICRC to the Indonesian Red Cross, were shipped from the port of Antwerp for Djakarta.