The German Red Cross
The German Red Cross
I believe that the Red Cross was supposed to be 'above' politics and nationalism during wartime; was the German Red Cross in WWII 'independent' or did it have to 'toe the party line'?
German Red Cross in WW2
Everybody had to toe the line.
Having said that, the German Red Cross was perhaps the least of any organization with political ties. The connections to the International Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland, were about as wide open as it was necessary. There are many instances where Swiss Red Cross personnel visited POW camps of US, French, English, etc. POWs and they were able to speak to the POWs pretty freely.
This, of course, held true only in the case of Western POWs, not Russians, Yugoslavs, Poles, and other sub-humans.
While on front leave in 1943, I personally saw two members of the IRC, wearing Red Cross vests, eating in a Linz restaurant; after they had finished, they were picked up by their chauffeur and brought to a POW camp near Linz. I did not speak with them, but the Swiss cadence in the spoken language made it pretty clear who they were - aside from their vests.
My 1.7 cents (US). Joscha
Having said that, the German Red Cross was perhaps the least of any organization with political ties. The connections to the International Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland, were about as wide open as it was necessary. There are many instances where Swiss Red Cross personnel visited POW camps of US, French, English, etc. POWs and they were able to speak to the POWs pretty freely.
This, of course, held true only in the case of Western POWs, not Russians, Yugoslavs, Poles, and other sub-humans.
While on front leave in 1943, I personally saw two members of the IRC, wearing Red Cross vests, eating in a Linz restaurant; after they had finished, they were picked up by their chauffeur and brought to a POW camp near Linz. I did not speak with them, but the Swiss cadence in the spoken language made it pretty clear who they were - aside from their vests.
My 1.7 cents (US). Joscha