AUSTRIA. Vienna. 1948.
An anxious mother pleads with the chief expert, an old German shoemaker, to say that the worn pair of shoes she has brought are still repairable. The reception room at the Swedish Red Cross workshop is full of such anxious and tense faces, because shortage of boots and shoes is a most serious problem. If the boots are too old to be repaired, the child must go without -although an elaborate official machinery exists whereby the needy can apply for priority to get new footwear. The workshop handles expertly repairs that no normal shoemaker would tackle.