Shortly after the end of World War II in Europe, the American Junior Red Cross helped initiate correspondence betwen the private Realschule in Pocking, Bavaria, Germany, and Central High School in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Among the activities of this club was the preparation and mailing of Red Cross CARE packages and Chrstmas gift boxes to Europe. According to the 1949 Central High School Booster, a box of school supplies, sanitaqtion nees and sports equipment "to outfit a foreign school of forty children" was sent to the Rivate Realschule in Pocking, Bavaria, Germany. In 1950 a "thank you" scrapbook was recieved from the school as a reply to the gifts.

The following year, the faculty advisor received additional correspondence from some of the Realschule pupils who wished to have American penpals and explore the possibility of establishing a student exchange. The scrabpook and letters were kept by subsequent German langauge techers at Central.

In 2007, Irene Barmore, a retired Central High School German language teacher and member of the La Crosse German International Relations Committee, brought a copy of the "thank you" scrapbook to Friedberg and Pocking, Germany, that showed life in the Realschule during the reconstruction period through the use of photographs, sketches and text.