INTO BRITISH ZONE

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 149, 21 December 1945, Page 7

INTO BRITISH ZONE

STEADY FLOW OF REFUGEES

(Special P.A. Correspondent.)

LONDON, December, 19

The flow of refugees into the British zone of occupied Germany from the Russian zone and from former German territory now incorporated in Poland continues at a fairly steady |rate of from 10,000 to 12,000 daily known persons, reports a special correspondent of "The Time's." In addition, there are certainly a considerable number who smuggle themselves over the frontier, but there has been no recent increase in average numbers so far as is known, and reports to that effect are declared <to be incorrect by, officers of the control, section. dealing wtih. refugees .and . displaced persons. ."'"" .' '''■'' Theoretically,' all these refugees are coming into the British zone under.the "head -for head" scheme, and their place—at ■ least in the Russian zone— should be taken by an equal number of Germans from the British* area, • but in point of fact this is not. happening, and only about 3000 leave daily from the British area to the Russian. This latter channel has been blocked lately by the decision to accelerate the disbandment of former Wehrmacht personnel, many of whom are now being returned ito their homes in the Russian zone, thus taking the places of civilian refugees on the trains.

Refugees do not pay much attention to orders to proceed to given reception areas but endeavour, mostly with success, to drop off the trains unnoticed and make their way back to their homes, which were generally in the Ruhr or Hamburg and are in precisely the places where it is not desired now to increase the number of mouths to. feed.

One satisfactory feature of the whole refugee question is that British officers on the spot declare^ that they are able to work together with their Russian opposite numbers on a satisfactory basis. ' i ■