Waiting to be fed by the American Women's Hospitals, Island of Macronissi

Although the Allied countries did not permit women to serve as officers in the military medical corps, there was a desperate need for doctors in the wake of World War I. The desire to advance women in the medical profession and to relieve those suffering in post-war conditions prompted American women physicians to form the first American Women’s Hospital in France in 1918. The American Women’s Hospitals (AWH) was founded to provide medical care to the people of war-torn France during World War I, and subsequently established hospitals in other parts of Europe, continuing to provide medical care to devastated populations after wars and conflicts had officially ended.

In 1922, the American Women's Hospitals (AWH) established services on Macronissi to care for the refugees from Smyrna. The organization photographed the refugee situation in order to document the severity and scope of the crisis, and the AWH’s role in alleviating it. Photographs like this one were often later published in brochures created by the AWH to raise money to continue their work. The photograph illustrates the vast number of women and children refugees. AWH published photographs like this to raise awareness in America about what was happening, and to appeal for more money and support to continue their work among the refugees and improve conditions.