“GERMANS ARE DOWN & OUT”: UNRRA NURSE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22654, 3 June 1948, Page 6

“GERMANS ARE DOWN & OUT”: UNRRA NURSE

“J took sonic sweets along to a German family and it was the first time the children had ever seen sweets.” “The German houses are like morgues in winter, and when I saw the people standing on the railway stations I used to think they looked completely down and out.” These were two remarks passed yesterday by Sister K. Blackwood, who j has just returned to Gisborne after i three years working amongst displaced | persons in Germany with UNRRA and later with the International Relief Organisation which took over when UNRRA disbanded. One of six New Zealand nurses to be accepted for this relief work. Sister Blackwood flew from New Zealand to England and then to France. A truck convoy took tier to Germany and there her work amongst the million displaced persons from countries all over Europe began with an attempt to house adequately all the refugees. There were big numbers of Poles who would not go home to their Com-munist-inspired Government: Ukrainians, Balts, Yugoslavs, a few Czechs, and thousands of Jews all trying to get to Palestine. These people were all obsessed by one thought—to get away tiom their former homes. They were a big prob- ; lem because although many of them worked in Germany they were paid in almost worthless German marks and these could not buy their passage to the countries they wanted to reach. America and Canada were two countries which had a big attraction for them but unless they received assistance from Governments they wt re often unable to leave their campsBalts Go To Australia Australia had taken a lot of Balts recently, remarked Sister Blackwood, and others were gradually leaving, but there were many still to be placed. For relief work purposes the American zone—in which Sister Blackwood was stationed —was divided into areas. At Regensburg, which was her headquarters, their area had originally 10.000 displaced persons in it. but this number later swelled to 22,000. Relief teams comprised experts on nursing, welfare, supply, administration and maintenance who would endeavour to bring order and a certain amount of comfort into the B.P. camps. These camps might be anywhere, in barracks, factory, hospital or old military camp, and there was a great deal of organisation to be done in them. Sister Blackwood found many Germans “full of self-pity,” but agreed that with their minute rations, the complete absence of firewood and profound bomb damage they had little incentive to work. The Americans had got some factories going again, but the goods produced were all for export. She visited a huge exhibition in Munich of these goods and they made an excellent display, but 'here were none for the German people. There was nothing except “silly little things” in the shops—no clothes, and shoes were all made of wood but, despite this, the Germans seemed better dressed than the French people in 1945. Railways were back in operation and there was a good deal of office work to be had, and also work on roads. Food rations were very small, comprising black bread, a little meat and milk, but no sugar, no cheese and no coffee except the ersatz variety, which was dreadful. People in the country were better off with their ability to get some fresh food, but she did not blame anyone in the cities for going on the black market for food. “They just die of starvation in Berlin,” she commented- Children up to six years had a little extra milk and sugar, hut after that, were on adult rations. Schools Close In Cold Weather Schools had been established again in Germany, but often had to close down because of the lack of fuel and some were so overcrowded that half the pupils came in the morning and half in "the afternoon. There was not a great deal of disease in the camps, although tuberculosis had a big hold in the large cities said Sister Blackwood. While she w;s in Europe. Sister Blackwood visited the Scandinavian countries and Holland, being particularly impressed by the latter country’s efforts to return to normal. Finland was still “very bad,” but there was a violent contrast in Stockholm, where life was pre-war in its brightness. Several months in England—where she was able to see the Sadler’s Wells ballet, hear Eileen Joyce at the Albert Hall, see “Life with Father,” and travel a good deal—were spent by Sister Blackwood before she boarded the Trojan Star for New Zealand, spending on route. 101 weeks in South Africa at" Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth.

Now that she is back in New Zealand she will not resume her former position of district nurse at Te Karaka, but will .join the staff of the Health Department in Gisborne