MAY BE AVOIDED

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 14 October 1942, Page 2

MAY BE AVOIDED

NEGOTIATIONS IN PROGRESS CHAINING OF PRISONERS London, Oct. 12 If negotiations which are being carried on to-day are successful a reprisals race in the treatment of prisoners of war may be avoided and the Germans may countermand the order to chain the Dieppe prisoners, says the “Daily Telegraph’s” diplomatic correspondent. The German High Command's silence, which has lasted since last Thursday, was significantly maintained to-day. General consultations between the Dominion Governments have taken place since Germany first announced the decision to chain the prisoners. Complete agreement has existed among the Dominions from the beginning on the necessity of taking retaliatory measures. The Danish newspaper “Politiken” has published a private message from Berlin to the effect that the Germans at noon on Saturday fettered approximately 6000 British prisoners, making about 8000 in all. A German radio announcer said today that it was genuinely to be hoped that the German Government would be satisfied with the British explanation, because it was extremely regrettable that innocent people should suffer as a result of the British military authorities’ barbarous and clumsy methods. MILITARY ANSWER NEEDED “The Times,” in a leading article, says: "To the German mind the British prisoners, like the French, are an asset so far unused and now to be exploited. Any occasion could be found or invented for the purpose. The answer to this policy is not in competitive reprisals: the answer to the

policy is military. The right answer is to give the strong surge of indignation that is sweeping this country its rightful outlet in the waging of relentless war.” Berlin radio to-night switched the allegations of ill-treatment of war prisoners from Britain to Russia. It declared that a Russian military surgeon who had been captured admitted that all German prisoners were shot at Sebastopol under the orders of the Russian commander. —P.A.