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grateful to us for trying to make their stay in our
country as tolerable as possible. The same feeling of
loyalty and gratitude I noticed among the German,
Polish, American and British internees. It is possible
that the way in which the Swedish authorities treated
the internees created a certain amount of good will
for us in their respective countries.
In the beginning of 1945, we started repatriation
on a large scale. The number of Germans who made
forced landings in Sweden increased, and we were
therefore able to exchange, in the first place, English
and Americans for Germans. We also offered to
repatriate Russians. In connection with their return,
the Russian Legation asked that some of their
officials be allowed to talk with their internees
without the presence of Swedish representatives,
because a number of them had stated that they did
not want to return to their country for political
reasons. With great hesitations, I agreed. There were
six or seven Russians who wanted to stay in Sweden,
and I had explained to them in general terms that
they should consider carefully before they took this
step, as this would make it impossible in the future
for them to be reunited with their families. It is of
some interest to note that the result of Russian
persuasion was that the number of internees refusing
to return home in no way decreased, but instead,
increased by a few men.
My service with the General Staff as chief of the
Internment Section gradually ceased during the first
half of 1945, as my Red Cross work proved more and
more demanding.
27
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