Recently the practice started of handing the transports over to new escorts in Przemysl. These escorts are under the command of a delegate of the German Labor Front or the Ministry of Labor. This practice is clearly against the regulations and rules of the Reich Marshal and the Deputy General for Labor Supply. Taking a good management of the transport by the delegates for granted, incoming reports here list the following deficiencies: The escorts are understaffed which causes in part lack of care and food and rough treatment, doctors and released female domestic helpers are detained in camps without authority for want of supplementary identification papers, social care is lacking. A verbal report at hand relates in detail and with the witnesses the irresponsibility and indecent conduct of delegate Albert Nuessen who took over the 62nd transport. The transfer to the camp is made as fast as possible and not perfect. The railroad offices are of course directed to support the transport commanders. Unfortunately, however, some of the office chiefs of the railroad treat the transports of specialists often as very immaterial. The chief of transportation in Romodan e.g. stated to a transport commander that these transports are not important. Yet the Fuehrer himself ordered these transports, and the problem of work power was declared to be the most important and urgent in order to increase the potential of armament!
The food situation of the transports is now somewhat improved after giving right notice ahead of time. Previously some of the food stations failed grossly. However, it happens again and again that in spite of giving advance notice of the transports strength in time, no warm or cold food is ready or available. Sometimes this is due to military or hospital transports which passed through before. This can be easily understood. Sometimes, however, the notice was not passed on or simply nothing at all was done. In the Reich it is generally better. Of course it happens when trains are detoured a great deal of the specialists go hungry for days. The iron ration is always taken along and also used. It mostly depends on the transport commander and the office chief for social care how unforeseen food difficulties are overcome. The Army offices show always greatest understanding for supplying these transports, the deputies of the labor front most of the time fulfill their appointments well, however some of the deputies of the attendance service have completely failed in their duties. The transport commanders are instructed to give exact names and conditions in the future. The red cross which at times is overburdened helps with the supplying; unfortunately, however, the attitude and behavior of many female red cross workers toward the specialists is based often on uncomprehension of the Fuehrer's great action in regard to Eastern workers, and they treat especially the female workers in an outrageous manner. Food also has been refused at times with the reference that these were "Russian swine." Nobody pays attention to the fact that these are Ukrainians, because there is a lack of information to that effect. In reference to this, attention is called to the fact that it has happened on several occasions that people have broken out of the cars after several days of hungering, hurried into the nearby villages, sold their goods and acquired food. In such cases of course, it is not to be expected that they all come back. Such gross incidents of the transports of the first months have not, to our knowledge been repeated in the summer. However, it has been reported that about 500 workers escaped along the route out of a transport which started from Kiev, accompanied by only a few policemen, supposedly 5 in all, (and without medical personnel) and which convoy was badly supplied and taken care of.
To understand the supply problem, it is important to know that often only a short time is being allotted for the feeding of the many hundred people by the train commander or the railway station officer. Therefore all the workers can only be fed before the departure of the train if there is a sufficient amount of accompanying and attendance personnel and if the food is handed out quickly at several distributing points; in addition close co-operation of the workers is needed. Because the transports must often stop 1-3 Km outside of the stations it still happens frequently that a small part of the workers remains without rations because the engineers, in spite of agreements and the stationmaster let the trains take off without warning. On the basis of reported incidents, attention must be called to the fact that it is irresponsible to keep the workers locked in the cars for many hours so that they cannot even take care of the calls of nature. It is evident that the people of a transport must be given an opportunity from time to time to get drinking water, to wash, and in order to relieve themselves. Cars have been showed in which people had made holes so they could take care of the calls of nature. When nearing bigger stations persons should, if possible relieve themselves far from these stations.
The following abuses were reported from the delousing stations: In the women's and girls' shower rooms, services was partly performed by men or men would mingle around or even helped with the soaping!; and vice versa, there was female personnel in the men's shower rooms; men also for some time were taking photographs in the women's shower rooms. Since mainly Ukrainian peasants were transported in the last months, as far as the female portion of these are concerned they are mostly of a high moral standard and used to strict decency, they must have considered such a treatment as a national degradation. The above mentioned abuses have been, according to our knowledge, settled by the intervention of the transport commanders. The reports of the photographing were made from Halle; the reports about the former were made from Kiewerce. Such incidents in complete disregard of the honor and respect of the Greater German Reich may still occur again here or there.
III. Abuses inside Germany
Undoubtedly the higher authorities in the Reich do everything to attend, in the best manner, to the workers from the East, especially from the Ukraine, who have been called to Germany. In most of the enterprises, too, in the countries and in households, one is not only satisfied most of the time with the Ukrainian women and girls as help, but they are also treated with a happy solicitude and with understanding for their position and for our relations to the Ukraine.
Here too, unfortunately voices are heard that tell of bad treatment in the collecting as well as other camps. All the time people tell about beatings and thrashings and constantly also they write about them. It seems that especially these men who have functions pertaining to order and security violate sometimes very much the limits of admissibility and identify the Ukrainians as Bolsheviks while they have actually for decades opposed themselves to Bolshevism as its natural enemies. The camp commanders also, usually show no understanding for the Ukrainians. The treatment in the camps is described as being bad and very brutal.
With regard to food, it is being felt in Germany that in a war for life and death, it is but natural to impose harsh restrictions in the first place on foreigners who have been up to the present in the enemy's camps. No doubt the Reich and the businesses make efforts to keep the workers who were brought in, in good health and working condition. If abuses take place here, it is harmful to ourselves and should be remedied in each single case.
Disadvantageous also is the fact that a great portion of the German population considers the Ukrainian labor forces as their worst enemies and as Russian Bolshevists and treat them accordingly. A definite clarification is urgently needed here. In the face of such an attitude of the Ukraine it will be completely impossible to have for decades and centuries a successful and durable solution for the great economical and political problem of the East especially of the Southern part.
Until recently the postal communication problem of the specialists with their country was not fully solved and gave cause to ill rumor and depression. At present an improvement is being planned.