PRISONERS IN EXILE
By DOROTHY F. BUXTON
THE severest test for democracy is imposed by international problems. The Prisoner of War situation brings an inter- national problem right to our doors. The most suspect of " foreigners " is in our midst—a creature, so it seems, after all of flesh and blood. For millions of people to whom the German hid been a rather unpleasant abstraction he has now acquired the character of a comfortably commonplace human being. By a series of rather tardy concessions the daily life of the P.o.W. has gradually been ameliorated. This cannot, however, alter the general view of the British public that it is high time he was allowed to go home (if he wants to do so, and the great majority do). Mr. Bellenger himself, under fire in the House of Commons and worried by ques- tions on " sweated labour " which admitted of no satisfactory reply, fell back on what may be presumed to be his real opinion: "I think the main thing is to get these prisoners back to their own country."
Then why are they not allowed to go? The prisoners' case for repatriation is unanswerable ; at least it never gets a convincing answer. It is easy, however, to see that it lies in our own labour shortage ; in the urgent need of maximum food-production and of industrial exports to pay for our food imports. Is it wholly irre- levant, however, that the needs of our German zone arc exactly the same—except that they are even more urgent, the actual survival of millions of people being apparently at stake? The acute shortage of men between twenty-one and forty-two is stressed in the report of the British Element of the Control Commission, and little im- provement is expected, it seems, for another ten years. The Control Commission, we are assured, would have liked to see the monthly quota of repatriation raised to 30,000.
On moral grounds the case is equally strong. Each month that prolongs the unnatural separations (already five to seven years in some cases) adds to the punishment we inflict on many a struggling wife and on her uncontrolled children. If family life is the basis of civilised society, our policy is designed to shatter it. Priority in the monthly quota for repatriation is based " on political and economic factors and length of captivity alone, with provision for special com- passionate cases " (House of Commons, February 18th). Five hundred such cases are allowed. The fact is, however, that practically all the men with families are the equivalent of " compassionate " cases. The Geneva Convention, in effect, requires repatriation of P.o.W.s
as soon as possible after the dote of hostilities, with no exceptions for labour as reparations or any other plea. Verbally, it is the
" conclusion of peace " and not the close of hostilities which is mentioned. But the effort to square prolonged retention of prisoners with the letter of the Geneva Convention because no peace treaty has been signed is in contradiction to its spirit and intentidn (as is made clear by the context). Such Conventions are framed solely for the protection of human welfare by the definition and safeguarding of fundamental rights. The letter of the Convention is being used now to defeat its own purpose.
The theory that we and our Allies are still "technically at war with Germany " (Mr. McNeil, March 24th) lends unreality also to
the discussion of other dependent P.o.W. questions. It justifies the startling contrast between the rates of pay to our German workers and to all others. " I now have both Poles and Germans in my employ," remarked a South Country farmer. " I pay 2S. an hour to the Poles and VA. to the Germans ; and the Germans do twice es much work as the Poles." Mr. Bellenger is satisfied that the pay of the prisoners (an average now for skilled work of 95. in money and 6s. in credit) " is determined by their status " (June 24th), and is " appropriate io their status" (March 25th). Thus one arbitrary act is taken to justify another. Allie‘ refusal of a " technical " peace justifies the " status' theory, and with it the refusal of the right to " free " work, the right to marry,* the right to live with one's wife, to look after one's children, and.other well-recognised human rights. Further, it is held to justify the pocketing by the nation of £36,000,000 (the balance for this year of the normal labourer's wages which the farmer is bound to pay to the Treasury) ; and again of the practice, worthy of Shylock, of reducing the exchange sate of 4o German marks to the pound to a special one of 15 marks for the prisoner returning at last to his starving family. Such facts do at least explain Mr.
• R. R. Stokes's outburst that our arrangements "consist of sweating the people in this country and swindling them over there." In reality, the " status " theory as now applied has no basis in law or precedent— save the ancient one of va? victis.
While the urgent desire of men to be reunited with their dependents, or to work for their own country, should at all costs be respected, there is no reason why the sacrifice of our own immediate labour interests should be very serious. There are large numbers of un- attached young men who are not very anxious to return to a country where there is neither bread nor hope, and where in some cases they have not even an address to go to. With a little more induce- ment many of them would be glad to go on working for us here. The option of staying on as a " free " worker for six months at a time is already granted to men whom a farmer may wish to retain. But there are nearly 5o,uoo prisoners employed in industry. However important their services, the employer may not, so far, apply for their retention. It has been proposed by various Labour Members and others that prisoners should be allowed to volunteer for " the . large number of occupations in which they had experience and in which there is a grave shortage of British labour " (Mr. Skeffington- Lodge, May 2oth). A local enquiry suggested that up to 3p,000 prisoners might at that time have been ready to stay (Hansard, March 13th). It has also been proposed that repatriated German prisoners should be given the same opportunity as Italian ex- prisoners to return to this country for " free " labour. It is pre- sumably only a question of time for this to be granted. Meanwhile, much valuable labour is being lost to our country, for it is generally recognised that the Germans are among the most reliable and in- dustrious of workers. •
In view of the critical world situation which is likely to close in more and more upon ourselves, what is it that holds back the Govern- ment from highly advantageous decisions? Mr. Bellenger has told us that restrictions can be relaxed " only gradually till we see what is the effect on the British public." When far-reaching issues are in question there are, however, many Labour supporters who feel that the Government should seek to lead rather than to be led. Our Mina- tion calls out for a policy of realism in accord with the dire needs of the present and unconfused by the sentiments appropriate to war.
* This has just been conceded.—En., The Spectator.
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