[Brian Bines]

I have a copy of a letter from a Luftwaffe airman taken Pow after baling out over the UK in 1943. He said in the UK he was well treated but then following the Allied invasion was taken to the USA where he said again he was well treated. He then said in 1946 newspapers in the US said all pows would be sent home, in reality though he claims " we were sold to the French" and were treated "not as humans but as animals ". I read most countries with German pows used them in re-construction following VE day with varying degrees of treatment. In the UK many were used on farms until 1948/49 and some settled here. There was a fact based film, I believe about Polish airmen who flew with the RAF, and on return to Poland were badly treated by the Communist Government, similar to Denes' post. I think that the Geneva Convention states on cessation of hostilities pows should be returned home, however as Tim says the state of Europe following the end of the war should be considered before being judgemental, and consider German action in some occupied countries as pelagonia points out.