CORRESPONDENTS' VIEWS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 237, 6 October 1945, Page 4

CORRESPONDENTS' VIEWS

EX-P.O.W'S ALIjEGA'FIOff

To The Editor

The trials of war criminals, enemy collaborators, British civilians' and soldiers, with pro-German pathies, using their talents in insidj. ous radio propaganda and in fields of journalism, have had black headlines and columns of copious print. As an ex-p.o.w. repatriated, I expose a class of collaborator who have yet to receive the full arc light of publicity they so richly deserved-men placed in positions of authority and trust in cookhouses, Red Cross parcel and food depots, clothing stores, tailor shops, boot-repairing shops and even medical supply stores, both in German and Italian prisoner-of-war camps. In some cases their trust was grossly abused. They racketeered to their personal gain and animal comfort. VoluminSus notes v/ere taken by the 5.1.8, following our exchange m England, concerning administration, living conditions, conduct and mien of soldiers and n.c.o.'s alike, general treatment by the enemy, etc. A definite promise was given that swift retri. bution would follow an adverse report of a; court-martial by their own countries once the release of these marked men was affected. Yet no newspaper publicity of any of these cases has appeared. Why? With the formation of ex-p.o.w. associations within the Empire a powerful scourge can be fashioned to administer the needed chastisement should military officialdom continue to pursue its laxity and hush-hush policy. Too often have we heard the paternal admonition "Go and sin no more," to be applicable to these human vampires, the root cause of much of our malnutrition, the selfmutilation to avoid the unsafe and unpropped mines of Poland, the uniforms that became worn and threadbare in continued use year after year, the mental disquiet and resultant misunderstanding of a long-awaited parcel unrecehed. Exp.o.w.'s—let not my voice be the only one crying alone in the wilderness. Speak for yourselves! STIMMT.