Evening star., 1946-06-02

ton, led the searcher direct to a
convent on nearby hill where a
large group of Allied children was
found.
On the contrary, however, once
in a while a clue will just fall out
of the sky" as when the Catholic
padre at Arolsen, UNRRAs central
headquarters for Germany, came to
Miss Eileen Blackey of Jacksonville,
Fla, child welfare consultant, with a
request for medical supplies for 80
tubercular children in a. German
child home. An investigation re-
vealed that 19 of the 80 children
were of Allied nations. But even
more amazing interviews with nuns
at the home gave clues to the loca-
ton Of so more children 40 miles
south of Arolsen and $50 at Han
mover.
An UNRRA searcher, whose car
broke down in a German village,
chatted with German mechanics
and people about the place while it
was being repaired. She learned
about little French child whom she
promptly recovered for France. An
other search-team member idly
turhed the pages of German news
paper and came across the adver-
| tisement of German woman who
had just arrived in Upper Bavaria
to trace relatives. On the chance
that she had run across valuable
clues in her own search he contacted
her and found enough tips to un-
cover several hundred children scat
tered under false names in German
homes.
Tricks Get Story.
But even after children are locat-
ed, overcoming childish fear Is often
major problem. Children fire.
quently associate uniforms with hor-
rible memories. Occasionally a candy
bar will do the trick-SS men gave
no candy bars. Sometimes it takes
more. One UNRRA worker broke
down child's stubborn refusal to
answer questions by pointing out
that her small sisters birthday fell
on the same day as his. Sometimes
f1attery does what other methods
fail to do. A worker will remark
wonderingly On child's command
Of the German language and it will
bring forth a flood of French, Polish
or Dutch.
Once their tongues. are loosened,
these children sometimes pour out
tragic stories which shock even the
tragedy-sated ears of the searchers,
as the story told by the 14-year-old
Jewish girl Of being harnessed like
beast OF burden to a hearse and
forced by German driver who
shouted horse driving ternns,s to haul
bodies OF her peopies to- a aSYen1ato-
dunn in the morning and ashes back
at night. = " ~ ~rz.f
Once the children are located.
identified as Allied nations, and re-
claimed from the Germans they are
moved to one of the 20 UNRRA
child centers operated in the Amer
ican and British zones. Here the
children are cared for by trained
nurses found among displaced per-
sons and by German nuns, always
under the direction of an UNRRA
child care specialist.
DPS Serve on Teams.
The job is to reteach native
languages, to make impressionable
child minds forget-by kindness
their German experiences. to re-
store the health of those who have
suffered physically. and to try to re-
pair damage to minds which some
times need psychiatric treatment.
The final task, of course, is restora-
ton to home and family If possible.
The search goes on.
1t is only fitting. perhaps, that the
people who comprise large portion
of the UNRRA search teams are
themselves Europeans, displaced
persons for the most part who have