Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - In the Europe of Total War
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and clever diplomatic activities, weighed heavily in
Moscow.
-From the very beginning, Mme Kollontay showed
great interest in my application for a Russian visa.
She promised personally to take up the matter with
the Russian Foreign Office. However, she was
doubtful about the chances of getting into the Russian
camps. I had a feeling that in spite of her personal
interest, she was pessimistic about the possibilities
for my journey.
I tried to point out that even from a Russian point
of view it might be valuable for a neutral observer
to study conditions in the camps. I stressed that the
opinion was widely held that the Russians treated
their prisoners of war unsatisfactorily. An objettive
clarification of this question ought therefore to have
been of interest to the Russians.
In parenthesis, many people have afterwards asked
my opinion about this. I have never been able to give
a satisfactory reply. The sources of information
have been inadequate. However, sometimes the
Swedish Red Cross receives information from
prisoners of war in Russia. Some of our
representatives have also had the opportunity to talk
personally with a number of repatriated prisoners. If one
assimilates this information, one concludes that
conditions in Russian camps are not particularly bad.
It is by no means a joke to live in such a camp for a
long period, with limited rations, hard labor and a
severe climate. Uncertainty about how long the
confinement will last, and about the fate of the family at
home must also be very depressing. To be entirely
fair, however, I must point out that the very alarm-
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