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BACKGROUND
The Tolstoy Foundation has been operating in Munich since l948 as a relief organization assisting refugees and displaced persons. The post-war period was one of unrelenting activitity for the Tolstoy Foundation. Under the direction, of Tatiana Schaufuss, the small staff in Europe accomplished immense tasks, successfully interceding on behalf of tens of thousands of Russian refugees who found themselves living under communist domination after World War II and arranged for their resettlement in the United States. A home for the aged was established in West Berlin for elderly Russians from Yugoslavia and the Middle East in cooperation with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

In the late l960's and l970's, the Munich office was also a major center for refugee resettlement of Russian Jews of mixed marriages to the United States.

MUNICH ACTIVITIES TODAY
In Munich today, our affiliate Tolstoi Hilfs-und Kulturwerk provides immigration counseling, social welfare and practical assistance to people arriving from the former Soviet Union, including those of the post World War II immigration. There are approximately l0,000-12,000 Russian-speaking persons residing in Munich today.

Tolstoi Hilfs-und Kulturwerk includes a 40,000 book library of classical and contemporary Russian books. The growing number of visitors to the library includes Russian immigrants, guest professors, exchange students and temporary workers. In recent years, more and more German students, translators and scholars are visiting the library and attending the cultural events.

The library is the focal point of many cultural and educational activities. Well-known writers and musicians from Russia and from the Russian emigre community in Munich perform regularly. Annual Russian Orthodox Easter and Christmas parties continue to attract a crowd. In 1995, a Russian language program and a "German for Russians" course were launched at the library as well.

We are proud of the multi-faceted work of the Tolstoi Hilfs-und Kulturwerk a true Russian cultural center in Europe today.

Address:

Tolstoi Hilf-und Kulturwerk, e.V.,

Thierschstrasse 11-17

D-80538 Munich 22, Germany

Tatiana Ershow, Director