WAR PRISONERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 38, 13 August 1941, Page 6

WAR PRISONERS

PARCELS SYSTEM

GENEVA'S BIG TASK

Restricted possibilities of purchasing and the dearth of means of transport render Geneva's task in distributing parcels to prisoners of war very difficult, and the difficulties tend to increase rather than diminish. From the beginning the British authorities have been* willing and ready to give navicerts for goods exclusively intended for prisoners of war and addressed to the International Committee at Geneva. The German authorities have assisted in the distribution of parcels and letters, although certain restrictions are imposed. Three Portuguese boats which bear the distinctive signs of the Red Cross run a regular service between Lisbon and Marseilles or Genoa, and carry parcels consigned to prisoners of all nationalities. It is hoped to charter two Swedish vessels for the same purpose. American vessels have also been carrying large numbers of parcels. From Marseilles the parcels are conveyed by rail to Geneva and. from there, after certain formalities have been complied^ with, they go into Germany. Ninety to one hundred vans are dealt with every week. \ As the organisation of the camps in Germany is subject to frequent changes, and as the prisoners constantly change their addresses, it has become very difficult to deliver individual parcels. Hence a plan of collective parcels has been evolved. These are sent to each camp, and the contents are distributed according to the needs of the prisoners. Thousands of parcels are received m Geneva each month for distribution, and over a- quarter ,of a million were sent put again to the various prison camps during the first three months of the current year. These were for British prisoners of war only: thousands more parcels were dispatched to prisoners of other nationalities.