PRISONERS OF WAR

Evening Star, Issue 23677, 10 September 1940, Page 6

PRISONERS OF WAR

RED CROSS CARE AND TREATMENT [By Anxhony Ci.tne, in the ‘ Weekly Scotsman.’] Those who have father,' son, or brother, husband or sweetheart a prisoner of war ought to know, for the sake of such solace as they can derive therefrom, that the Bed Cross organisation ensures a standard of decent treatment fixed by international agreement. To the growth of humanitarian sentiment in the nineteenth century was due the recognition of the right of prisoners of war to be protected from the cruelty either of vengeful feelings or of callous neglect. An international conference at Brussels in 1874 prepared a code, amended and adopted by The Hague Conference of 1899. The existing international law is set forth in Convention IV. of The Hague Conference of 1907, which includes detailed regulations designed to ameliorate conditions of life in internment camps. Sixty-one nations are signatories of the Red Cross compact relating to prisoners of war. With regard to food, which seems to be a frequent cause of anxiety to people concerned about a prisoner, it is laid down that each is entitled to be fed with the same quantity and style of food as that issued to reserve troops of the nation holding them captive. This is sufficient for sustenance in health, but it is not generous. Troops customarily supplement their rations at a canteen, of course. The Red Cross organisation enables the fare of prisoners of war, combatants, and civilians, to be augmented by parcels from their home country. EQUAL DISTRIBUTION. In the last war parcels were at first sent out by individuals and numerous

separate organisations. Widespread abuses arose, some prisoners obtaining supplies far exceeding their needs, while others received, none, and there were cases of gross fraud practised on the charitably disposed. An attempt at voluntary co-ordination . failed. In' September, 1916, an official committee was established, and no individual or body could send a parcel without its authorisation. It Organised dispatch jby_ 181 . care committees, 81 local associations, and 67 shops, and also packed and dispatched parcels to prisoners not otherwise provided for to the' number, at ■ the armistice, of 47,500 officers and ’ men. In the present war, for the sake of ■ efficiency and ocSnomy, and to serve • the best interests of all British prison- ■ ers without distinction—which, is the predominant aim, and not any senti- ■ mental gratification ' to relatives at 1 home—the preparation and dispatch of parcels is wholly in the hands of the 1 Red Cross and St. John organisation, ' which bears the entire cost. No other ■ parcels can be sent. 5 The headquarters of the Prisoners of 1 War Department are at St. James’s ■ Palace, London, and the Lord Chamberlain is chairman. All food, is pur- • chased, packed, and dispatched by this I department,, which sends each week to • every British prisoner of war and civi- . Han internee in enemy custody a cons signment ensuring fully adequate > nourishment. The camp authorities may not take disciplinary measures affecti ing a prisoner’s food, and means for ) cooking supplementary rations must be 1 provided. 1 Inevitable distress over the. lot of a prisoner of war need not be intensified i by fears concerning food. All the evidence shows that the German authorii ties are dealing properly with parcels, i In the last war, whatever grounds for > complaint there may have been in some i other respects, all but a very small • percentage of the immense number of . food parcels dispatched reached their ' addresses, though they contained things then unobtainable in Germany, except by the wealthy. CLOTHING. 1 Adequate clothing, including underclothing and footwear, must be supplied to prisoners by the camp s authorities. Incarceration in a civil or military punitive prison is not permitted, ' and the camp accommodation," including' sleeping quarters and sanitation, ■ must be up to a certain standard, with ' heating arrangements in cold weather. . -Facilities for exercise are provided for ' in the code, and also opportunities foi 1 religious services. Each prisoner is allowed to correspond with his home country by means of three letters arid four post cards a month. Every camp must have a properly equipped infirmary and a qualified medical officer, and a prisoner has the right to demand to see the doctor at any

time. In case of serious illness or the need for' a surgical the prisoner is to be treated in a military or civil hospital with the same care and skill as. other patients. If a prisoner considers he is permanently _ incapacitated for military service, be is entitled to be examined by a panel of three doctors, two of them neutrals, and if they, decide he will not become fit to bear arms again he is repatriated. LEADER AND SPOKESMAN. In each camp,' whether for officers or for non-commissioned ranks and privates,, the prisoners elect a leader who acts as their spokesman and representative with the authorities, and also as their governor in matters they arrange' and manage themselves. Usually, he is the senior officer or noncommissioned officer among them. He , has the right to a. private interview with the camp commandant when he desires to lay before him personally any grievance. All the evidence indicates that the German authorities are carrying out their, obligations under the international agreement. In every belligerent country the committee of the International Red Cross at Geneva has'an official delegate, a neutral endowed with very wide and searching powers of inspection. Not subject to any orders except those of the International 1 Red Cross, he has complete freedom of movement, can visit any camp and any part of it at any time, can converse with any prisoner in private, and can demand audience’ with the camp commandant. ■ He is to be satisfied that the accommodation, conditions, facilities are in accordance with the code, if he detects any reason for criticism informing the Government concerned. Should the matter not be put right with reasonable expedition,, he communicates his strictures to the ' committee at Geneva, which takes them up. The reports of delegates about their visits to camps are published every month in the ‘ Revue ’ of. the International Red Cross, circulating in every country, so that any persistent failure to treat prisoners of war properly becomes known to all the world.