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of the western Allied occupation powers happened
without knowledge of their superiors. I can give
examples that the authorities have intervened
forcefully when cases of sadism or cruelty have come to
their attention, and that the culprits have been
severely punished. The conditions in German
concentration camps existed, as everyone knows, with the
sanction of the Nazi leaders, which makes them
appear in a different and much more frightful light.
I can very well understand that it can be tempting
for weak and unbalanced individuals to take the
same measures against their previous enemies as
these enemies were guilty of when they were in
power. They followed the motto: ”An eye for an eye,
a tooth for a tooth”. Nevertheless, it is quite clear
that such reasoning and behavior is absolutely
unpardonable. It is debasing oneself to the low mentality
of the Nazis, a mentality which these individuals
judged so harshly.
I will once more point out that I cannot speak
authoritatively of conditions in the other parts of
Germany, as I feel that I cannot judge cases which
have come to my attention only by word of mouth,
without having checked them personally.
There is, however, good reason to believe that the
conditions, for example, in the concentration camps
of the Russian Zone, are still worse than they have
ever been in the western Allied Zones. Nevertheless,
it seems hopeless to try to make improvements in
these reprehensible conditions as the Russian
authorities do not permit representatives from the
humanitarian organizations of other countries to visit
their camps. Furthermore correspondence with the
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