FORCIBLY DEPORTED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26692, 11 February 1948, Page 5

FORCIBLY DEPORTED

GERMANS IN RUSSIAN ZONE VAST CONCENTRATION CAMPS N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent Rec. 8 pm. LONDON, Feb. 10. The special correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, Mr R. H- C. Steed, says, in a leader page article, that Russian concentration camps in the Soviet zone of Germany at present hold between 200,000; and 300,000 prisoners, not including convicted Nazis. The largest camps are at Buchenwald and Oranienburg), both notorious from Hitler days. The correspondent alleges that between 5000 and 6000 prisoners have died in Oranienburg during the past 18 months. The two chief categories of the prisoners are Social Democrats and ex-officers of the Wehrmacht retiring from the west. At one time, says the correspondent, over 2000 exGerman officers were known to be in Oranienburg and eventually the fit, numbering about 1000, were forcibly deported to Russia. The correspondent claims that forcible -deportation is common and that at one time during the spring of last year the deportations numbered more than 5000 a week. Many thousands of skilled German workers have been deported to Russia at a few hours’ notice in order to run machines which the Russians have dismantled and removed from their zone. Thousands more have been drafted for forced work under dangerous and primitive conditions in the German uranium mines. The correspondent further alleges that the Russians are building up the Communist-dominated German Social Unity Party by a carefully organised system of intimidation. This includes threatening Germans who refuse to join the party with the loss of jobs and promises to former Nazis to expedite denazification proceedings against them if they join the Social Unity organisation. The correspondent claims that 20 per cent, of the membership of the party is composed of former Nazis.