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POLES’ RECOVERY

GOOD PROGRESS STRONG GOVERNMENT SURPRISING PEOPLE (Special Correspondent.) (9 a.m.) LONDON. Jan. 29. The fine spirit of the Poles was the thing that most impressed Dr. R. G. Hampton, of Wellington, New Zealand, during his stay of 12 months in Warsaw. He was a welfare supply officer in the UNRRA organisation, and with his wife, who was in the welfare section as an executive assistant, he travelled widely over Poland and also. visited Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. “Despite the incredibly bad times the Poles experienced during the last six or seven years, they seem to be bubbling over with life and vitality,” said Dr. Hampton. “I cannot see how any other people could have come up as quickly as the Poles have done. They of course are very volatile, and it is not the first time in their history that they had to turn to and start, all over again. Too Much Expected “On flic question of the Polish Government, I do not think that the people abroad realise sufficiently what the country has been through with revolution on top of six years of terrorism. There seems to be a tendency to expect too much of the Polish people. “What Poland needs to-day is a strong Government. She has got it. and the Government, was determined at the recent election to see that it would not be chanced, particularly at the present time. There is no assurance at the moment that the type of democratic government which America and Britain would like established in Poland would be best for the country. “Poland is in pure economic chaos, and for the position to be complicated now by party politics would slow down the rate of recovery. In the circumstances T do not think the present Government is a bad thing. In the past year it has done very good work, and the progress being made towards recovery is probably much more rapid than in Britain.

“The Poles have, of course, been aided by UNRRA, which provided valuable supplies of food and industrial equipment. I am not satisfied that UNRRA's work is finished there. Everything will depend on the next harvest, and to aid it UNRRA supplied considerable amounts of seed, which were planted in the autumn. “The Polish Government is, of course, closely allied to Russia, but its political actions resemble an advanced form of Socialism rather than Communism. The Government has not dispossessed the small farmer. In fact, it is splitting up the big estates to sell to peasant landlords, and though all factories with staffs exceeding 500 have been taken over, there are many thousands of factories not under State control. Soviet Influence Considerable “The Russian influence no doubt is considerable, though it is not very noticeable. Comparatively few Russian uniforms are seen: in fact, in Warsaw one sees almost as many British and American. “Warsaw is a tremendously interesting city, and although it was wiped out, yet in the 12 months I was there it returned to life and seems to have more organised bustle than London or Paris. The food position is by no means good. There is nobody dying of starvation, but a long period of insufficient diet means that many people, particularly the old, are prone to pneumonia, which causes many deaths. The rations of the worker are not bad. though monotonous. but those of non-workers are not sufficient. “The ending of UNRRA supplies means that people in old age institutions and children will suffer. That applies chiefly to the cities. In the country areas the peasant farmers are almost as well off as ever they were, though that is not saying a great deal, as conditions were never very good. In some villages, where there was heavy fighting, conditions are bad. Many people are living in dug-outs, and cannot till the fields because of mines. Over 3000 peasants have been killed in attempting to clear minefields. “Though Russian influence is considerable, there is a good deal of criticism directed against her. The loss of the eastern territories had much to do with this, and J feel that if a settlement could be made over them, the Poles would be quite willing to give up the western territories taken from Germany. Help for Poland

“The Russians, of course, have been very helpful towards Poland and they sent many supplies and have taken coal in return. The production of coal is good and is being exported to Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Yugoslavia, France and Denmark in addition to Russia. In return Poland is wanting raw materials—wool, cotton, machinery, oil —and if she can secure these it will go a long way towards assisting her economic recovery.” Dr Hampton added that the Poles were very pleased with the supplies of New Zealand raw wool, some of which he watched being made up in the factories. They also much appreciated the clothing, which they regarded as the highest quality they had received from any source. He saw some of it in a warehouse in Gdynia, from where t was be distributed to schools for children, teachers and parents. Dr. Hampton has now concluded his association with UNRRA, and with the agreement of the Public Service Commissioner he is staying on in Britain to investigate labour conditions by arrangement with the Ministry of Labour. He may visit America before returning to New Zealand

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GISH19470130.2.83

Bibliographic details

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22242, 30 January 1947, Page 6

Word Count
896

POLES’ RECOVERY Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22242, 30 January 1947, Page 6

POLES’ RECOVERY Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22242, 30 January 1947, Page 6