COMITE INTERNATIONAL DE LA CROIX ROUGE

DIVISION DES SECOURS.

GENEVE.

17th April, 1945.

TR/BR - ECR/MH

S.1.51.10/XXXI.

Dear Sir,

Re British Red Cross Relief for Stalags IVG, IVF and XIIIB.

We are in receipt of your letter of the 3rd April and thank you for having communicated to us the information relative to the lack of medical supplies of all kinds, in the above named camps, as determined during the course of visits between the 11th and 24th March, 1945.

Whereas a copy of your letter has been forwarded on to our Pharmaceutical Division, which deals exclusively with the servicing of camps with medical supplies of all kinds, we are pleased to give you hereunder particulars as to what the Relief Division has been able, recently, to despatch to these camps. You are doubtless aware of the fact that the Relief Division only handle medical supplies, contained in standard medical units, supplied by the British Red Cross Society.

You are also now fully aware that it is now impossible for us to despatch railway waggons into Germany, except to camps in restricted areas, and waggons despatched in this manner are intended to determined nationalities of prisoners of war. Camps in certain other areas can be serviced only by means of block trains comprising trucks of relief intended to the different nationalities interned in the camps concerned.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has now made arrangements whereby camps, located in area which cannot be reached by rail, are being serviced, as far as possible, by means of convoys of lorries, loaded with relief from various donors and intended for distribution to prisoners of war of all nationalities, under a pooling system in the camps which can be reached by lorry.

Stalag IV F. The last consignment, which it was possible to despatch by rail to Stalag IV F, intended exclusively to British prisoners of war, left Switzerland on the 22nd and 23rd February, and on the 25th and 28th March. They included a total of:-

                36,900 Standard food parcels

                  6,000 Christmas parcels

                  2,065 Invalid Diet Supplement parcels

                     538 Tobacco parcels

                       70 Medical parcels

                       70 Surgical parcels.

However, to date no confirmation has been received of its arrival of any of the waggons concerned at Stalag IV F.

Incidentally, as already stated in our letter of the 20th March, 1945, the British Man of Confidence at Stalag IV F, was requested at the time, to re-despatch one of these waggons containing 2,000 food parcels and 30 tobacco parcels to Oflag IV C.

Stalag IV G. Last waggons which left Switzerland for Stalag IV G, containing British Red Cross relief intended exclusively to the British prisoners of war in the camp, left Switzerland on the 22nd February (2 waggons) and on the 7th March (1 waggon). These three waggons contained a total of:-

                  6,500 Standard food parcels

                     200 Invalid diet supplement parcels

                       55 Tobacco parcels

                       60 Medical parcels

                       60 Surgical parcels.

Here again, no confirmation has been received as yet that these waggons ultimately reached the camp.

Furthermore, on the 11th inst., 10 lorries of relief were despatched from Switzerland to Stalag IV G, and these lorries contained consignments of medical supplies. This despatch was made for pooling purposes to the prisoners of war of all nationalities in the camp. Confirmation has not yet been received here that this convoy of lorries reached Stalag IV G.

Stalag XIII B. The last waggon of British Red Cross Relief despatched to XIII B and intended exclusively to the British prisoners of war, left Switzerland on the 24th March. It contained:-

                  2,500 Standard food parcels

                     100 Invalid diet supplement parcels

                       44 Tobacco parcels

                       10 Medical parcels

                       10 Surgical parcels

Naturally no confirmation has yet been received of the arrival of this waggon of supplies at Stalag XIII B.

On the 4th inst. arrangements had been made to despatch a block train of relief to Stalag XIII B, including 9 waggons of British Red Cross relief intended exclusively to the British prisoners of war at the camp. Unfortunately, due to a breakdown in railway communications, it was impossible to despatch this block train. Nevertheless, a train comprising 20 waggons of relief from various sources has just left this country for the camp, where the supplies will be distributed to prisoners of war of all nationalities on a communal basis.

A further block train is being organized and will leave very shortly with 20 waggons of relief for pooling purposes to be split up between Stalag XIII A, Stalag XIII B and Stalag 383, where the supplies will be distributed to prisoners of war of all nationalities in the camps.

Please be assured that the International Committee of the Red Cross is leaving no stone unturned, in order to despatch relief to prisoners of war in Germany, inasmuch as communications between this country and the camps are possible.

Yours faithfully,

For the International Committee of the Red Cross.

(Sgd.) Frederic Muller,

Head of the Goods Transit Sections of the Relief Division.