British attitudes towards German prisoners of war and their treatment

222 Pages·2017·2.21 MB·English

by  Alan Malpass

British attitudes towards German prisoners of war and their treatment: 1939-48
MALPASS, Alan Patrick
Available from the Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive (SHURA) at:
http://shura.shu.ac.uk/18156/
A Sheffield Hallam University thesis
This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author.
The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium
without the formal permission of the author.
When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding
institution and date of the thesis must be given.
Please visit http://shura.shu.ac.uk/18156/ and http://shura.shu.ac.uk/information.html for
further details about copyright and re-use permissions.
British attitudes towards German prisoners of war and their
treatment: 1939-48

Alan Patrick Malpass

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of
Sheffield Hallam University
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

September 2016
Abstract

This thesis examines attitudes expressed towards German prisoners of war (POWs) and
their treatment in Britain between 1939 and 1948. The original contribution of this
thesis is to highlight the importance of British values, particularly the notion of fair-
play, in public discussions of the treatment of POWs. In so doing, this thesis brings
together three historiographical areas which had usually been dealt with separately:
German POWs held in Britain, British national identity, and Anglo-German relations.
Chapters two and three are concerned with the wartime period (1939-45), and chapters
four, five, and six are concerned with the post-war period up to 1948, when the last
German POWs were repatriated. While it is structured chronologically, each chapter is
thematic. Chapter two examines the period between the outbreak of war in 1939 and the
end of 1942 and explores the legacy of the Great War on discussions of captivity.
Following chronologically, chapter three is concerned with the period between the D-
Day landings on 6 June 1944 and the unconditional surrender of Germany in May 1945.
The effect of the disclosure of atrocities committed by Nazi Germany on discussion of
captivity is explored. Breaking from the chronological structure, chapter four takes up
the theme of employment. Chapter five then considers the debates on the fraternisation
regulations and the marriage ban between British women and German POWs. Finally,
chapter six examines the campaign to repatriate German POWs. Throughout the war,
the treatment of POWs was a marker of cultural difference between Britain and the
German enemy. In the context of the emerging Cold War, the treatment of POWs was
given new significance in that it was contrasted with the Soviet Union. Amongst others,
this thesis concentrates on three principal sources: newspapers, newsreels, and Mass
Observation material. Focusing on these sources, this thesis considers how the narrative
of captivity was presented to the British public and the variety of responses which
challenged representations of POW treatment.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Sheffield Hallam University for awarding me a three year bursary
which enabled me to carry out this study. My supervisory team has been a steadfast
source of support and guidance throughout my research and writing. As Director of
Studies, Matthew Stibbe provided excellent guidance and encouragement, helping me
shape my ideas. My secondary supervisors, Robbie Aikten and Tony Taylor also
provided their own exceptional expertise and experience over the years. Each bought
their own valuable knowledge and experience to this project and their enthusiasm and
patience—especially when waiting for drafts of chapters—was outstanding. For his
comprehension of university regulations and the process of research in general, my
thanks also go to Merv Lewis. I would like to thank Bev, the unsung hero of Unit 9,
who solved all my administrative issues effortlessly. I would also like to thank my
examiners Neville Wylie and Nicola Verdun who provided superb feedback and
suggestions which have improved this thesis.
There are numerous others who have taken an interest in my work and deserve
thanks, particularly those at the research institutions and archive centres I visited and
used. Thanks to the Trustees of the Mass-Observation Archive, University of Sussex,
for their permission to republish material. In addition I would like to thank the
alternating liquid dispensary assistants at the Rutland Arms, in particular Pete and Flo,
who put up with me sitting at the bar looking dejected. They always remedied my
attitude after unproductive and difficult days. I want to thank Ben Wilkinson for the
pints, but more importantly his advice and perspective which helped me greatly. Thanks
go to my family, mum, dad, and sis, (who have supported me unconditionally, even
without fully understanding what I've been doing these past few years), and my friends,
especially Tristian, Shaun, Pete, Sam, and Luke. Special thanks goes to Jess who lived
day-in-day-out with this thesis as well as my self-doubt and ever changeable mood.
Without her encouragement and understanding this thesis would have not been
completed.

Table of contents

Chapter 1 – Introduction……………………………………………………………………...12

Chapter 2 – 1939-42…………………………………………………………………………...36
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………...36
2. The phoney war, September 1939 to January 1940……………………………..37
3. The Altmark incident, February 1940…………………………………………...55
4. The deportation of German POWs, May to June 1940………………………….58
5. The mooted exchange of POWs, October 1941…………………………………63
6. The Shackling Crisis, October to December 1942………………………………65
7. Conclusions……………………………………………………………………...72

Chapter 3 – 1944-45…………………………………………………………………................74
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………...74
2. The second wave of German POWs, June 1944 to February 1945……………...75
3. The invasion of Normandy, June 1944………………………………………….77
4. Stalag Luft III, May 1944 to June 1944…………………………………............89
5. The burial of German POWs at Cheltenham, June 1944 to July 1944………….92
6. Comforts for POWs in Aberdeen, September 1944 to November 1944………...93
7. A Vicar's vulgar joke, October 1944 to November 1944………………………..96
8. The liberation of Belsen, April 1945 to May 1945……………………………...98
9. Rations for German POWs, April 1945………………………………………..103
10. Conclusions…………………………………………………………………….105

Chapter 4 – Employment…………………………………………………………………….107
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………….107
2. Precedents of the Great War……………………………………………………108
3. The employment of POWs in Britain…………………………………………..111
4. Debates over productivity……………………………………………………...115
5. Housing………………………………………………………………………...119
6. Agriculture……………………………………………………………………..122
7. Local disputes…………………………………………………………..............130
8. Conclusions…………………………………………………………………….133

Chapter 5 – Fraternisation…………………………………………………………………..135
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………….135
2. Non-fraternisation policy………………………………………………………136
3. Civil Society……………………………………………………………………138
4. Lifting the fraternisation ban, March 1946 to December 1946………...............138
5. Further relaxation of restrictions, January 1947 to July 1947……….................149
6. British women and German POWs…………………………………………….155
7. Monica Cann and Hermann Ganter, May 1947………………………………..161
8. Olive Reynolds and Werner Vetter, July 1947 to August 1947………………..162
9. Conclusions…………………………………………………………………….168

Chapter 6 – Repatriation…………………………………………………………………….170
1. Introduction………………………………………………………………….....170
2. International law and repatriation……………………………………………...170
3. Protests over the retention of POWs, March 1946 to August 1946……………172
4. Save Europe Now and the first Memorial, August 1946………………………181
5. Attlee's response, September 1946……………………………………………..186
6. Protests continue, March 1947 to August 1947………………………………..188
7. The completion of repatriation, September 1947 to June 1948………………..192
8. Conclusions…………………………………………………………………….194
Chapter 7 – Concluding remarks…………………………………………………................196
1. The contribution to knowledge………………………………………………...196
2. Memory………………………………………………………………………...204

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………..210

Index of tables

Table 1 — Full-text searches in regional newspapers………………………………….28
Table 2 — Mass-Observation Panellists ranking of opinion-forming influences……...30