Evening star., 1945-07-08
Army Seeks to Enlighten =
German Prisoners of War
Program of Reeducation Lays Stress on Freedom
of Thought, Speech and Religion, Seed for
Future Democracy at Home
By Edsoard A. Harris

sters and autocratic, dictatorial per-
sonalities.
Books emphasizing freedom of thought
and action we're made available to
the POW camps. In addition to the
purchase of approved German-1anguage
books, the War Department itself or
dered publication of series of new edi-
tions of well-known books (printing
them in the German language) such as
"One World" Madame Curie" and
Stephen Vincent Benet's America"
Other authors include Franz Werfel,
Stephan zweig, Thomas Mann, Joseph
Conrad and Eric Remarque.
AS to newspapers and magazines, It
was decided to permit all publications
into the camps, subject to the approval
of the camp commander. This was done
to demonstrate the value of a free
press in free country. To drive home
this point further, the prisoners were
allowed to publish their own national
POW newspaper, Der Ruff (the CalD.
The first issue was put out last March
l, and there is now a demand for 50,-
600 copies. Sold for 5 cents a copy,
1t is financed from the Central Prisoner
of War Fund and already shows con-
siderable profit over production costs.
In this newspaper the German edi-
tors and writers themselves present a
true picture of their homeland of i'm
portant military and political Develop
ments and of the American way of life.
The effectiveness was demonstrated
when We day was announced. Instead
OF doubt and suspicion, the prisoners
accepted the announcement as fact, and
bowed to the inevitable
Take Correspondence Courses.
Self-education was also made availa-
BILE to the prisoners. About 10 universi-
ties and colleges were authorized to
assist the educational activities of pris-
oners by lending or donating textbooks
and outlines for study courses. BY the
first of this year Ia American universi-
ties had accepted enrollments in cor
respondence courses, including English,
American history, civics, economics and
geography. Only $50 prisoners have en-
rolled in such courses, but these few
hold out the possibility of intellectual
leadership of the others. They pay full
cost price themselves.
comprehensive program of religion
also is in full operation, carried for
ward by American chaplains supple
mented by auxiliary prisoner clergymen.
These same prisoners were denied free
dom of worship under Hitler, and the
beneficial effect of the contrast is
proved by the growth of religious feeling
in the camps. Statistical reports from
80 POW camps selected at random
showed a population increase of 8 per
cent from October, 1914, to February,
1945, or from 86,073 to 98,472. During
the same period church attendance rose
from 46,033 to 65,338, an increase of
2o,305, or 80 per cent.
Three basic reasons advanced by the
War Department for this increase are
dD the collapse of Nazi Germanys mil
itary might, CD segregation of fanati-
cal Nazis in the camps, thus relieving
adverse pressure on religious minded
prisoners, and CD the need for personal
spiritual comfort and the realization
that life is empty and without purpose
when it is devoid of true religion
Summing up, Gen. Bryan said: THE
German prisoner of war is not being
propagandized. Truth and propaganda
are not. synonymous We are taking
more than 350,0o0 prisoners-men
meandering in morass of myths-and
conducting well-calculated, thorough
and pointed program of exposition.
Learn How Democracy Works.
"The German prisoner of war is
learning how America, described to him
as a decadent democracy, lives and
works and how it fought a war much
better than his country was able to
fight it. He is reading American news
papers and American magazines and
finds that, in democracy, the people
are free to point out the errors of the
government without fear of a concen-
tration camp, without fear of Buchen-
wald or Dachau.
He is learning that the government
of the United States is willing to listen;
that if the people are right and the
Government is wrong, the Government