Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - ”It's a long way to Tipperary...”
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
families. The long and monotonous period in the
prison camps would soon be over. However, just
before the order to embark was given, word came
that the entire enterprise had to be called off. The
German authorities had at the last minute made
trouble over the fact that the number of prisoners
of war to be returned to Germany did not correspond
to the number of English who were going back to
their country. This contention was absolutely without
foundation, as the Conventions clearly state that the
number of prisoners exchanged need not correspond.
Both the English and the German prisoners thus had
to return to the sad camps they had hoped never
to see again. The future was just as grey and hopeless
for them as before, and they could no longer count
the weeks and the days until the time of release.
No more had been accomplished. Against this
background, it is understandable that I was very
happy to collaborate with the exchange of prisoners
planned to take place on Swedish soil, specifically,
in Gothenburg. The preliminary negotiations had not
been completed by the Swedish authorities, but by
the International Committee of the Red Cross in
Geneva and by the Swiss government, which was
the neutral agent for England and Germany. We
had only to arrange the technical details. This
involved a series of conferences with both German
and English authorities; it was necessary to come
to an agreement concerning the demands of both
parties.
The exchange embraced about five thousand
prisoners of war. The greatest part were Britishers,
a smaller number Americans, and the rest Germans
36
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
