Sta,—The letter from "German P.O.W." in your issue of January
3rd must have struck a deep chord of sympathy among many readers ; not least among those like myself who, if fate had worked differently, might now be in German prison camps, possibly suffering worse treatment. The present demand for the return of German prisoners to their own land springs from our best instincts of humanity, and on those grounds its justice cannot be questioned. Unhappily we are not confronted by a simple choice between good and evil. The issue is complicated by opposing factors, such as the need for man-power both here and in Germany, shortages of food and accommodation and many others. How- ever strong feeling may be, only the Cabinet possesses the necessary information on which to base a decision.
" German P.O.W." says that anti-British feeling is increasing among German prisoners. That is unfortunate, but is it really relevant? Could they be more anti-British than they were when the Luftwaffe was bomb- ing London, when the Kriegsmarine was engaged in unrestricted U-boat warfare and when the Wehrmacht was marching against England) It may be said that the war is over and the problem now is to create new and better relations. Certainly that is the problem. But the issue which dominates all others is that of security. We must ask ourselves whether the Germans have given up the ideas of racial superiority and military
conquest which Hitler fanned into a white heat of destruction. Other German prisoners have said: " There are flo million of us. We shall win in the end " or produced a snaashot of young sons with the words, " They will succeed where we failed." We are living in a fool's paradise if we believe this persistent spirit to be dead.
Germany is in ruins. But scme of her industries are being restored, inevitably, to make her self-supporting ; her scientists are still active, busily employed by the victorious Powers ; despite territorial losses, a coherent Reich remains which will not forget its old frontiers. These are no grounds for keeping German prisoners here. But the safety of Europe does require that our humanitarian feelings should not again allow a beaten Germany to rebuild her military power, as we did after 1918. Has that lesson really best learned?—Yours faithfully,
u Queen's Gate Gardens, S.W. 7. GUY HADLEY.
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