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Non-Fraternization


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Tidying up mum-in-law's affairs, found a load of stuff from Dad-in-law's WW2 service. He was in the 8th Army and served through North Africa, Italy, France, Belgium and all the way to Germany. Among his effects was a letter from Montgomery concerning fraternization with the German people.

(Transport buffs might like to note the train times jotted on the front!)

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Guest lebourg

Interesting.

My father served in the Royal Engineers in Egypt.

Whilst there he injured his jaw and ended up in Cairo Gen Hosp.

In the next bed was a German soldier who had his jaw smashed by a machine gun bullet.

Although the German was a POW he was just treated as a patient whilst in the hospital.

Dad and his army buddy's got on well with the German and they went to the cinema together. He was allowed in the Kenya club which was forces only and even went on a trip with the guys to see the pyramids.

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There seems to be a lot of anti-German propaganda in this document and I am not sure I agree with the non-fraternisation.

I can see that the policy would be necessary at the time to maintain the discipline of the occupying army and to keep control of the captured (and as they were German, they were "captured" and not "liberated" like they were in Italy,France and the low countries) territories.

However, I think it was Churchill that said after the War had finished at some VE day celebration words to the effect that "We have WON THE WAR, that was the easy bit, we now face the much more difficult task of WINNING THE PEACE and rebuilding Europe"

Winning the peace was a formidable task, displaced persons and refugees everywhere, millions homeless, millions of relatives and loved ones dead. Everyone had their own personal experience of the war (usually bad), everyone would be holding someone to blame (usually German) and very few people would want to trust people that had very recently been "the enemy" (from either side). A post war policy of non fraternisation would have made the peace process very slow and difficult to handle and could be counter productive.

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Guest lebourg

My dad and his friend Mat.

You can see in the photo that Mat has a pin holding his jaw together.

He served in an Alpine Jaeger Battalion.

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