Hi John,
The problem is not new but also is not easier together with time running. As I wrote the same "Normandy problems" are well-known in Poland and in the USA. This is also inter-Allied problem still waiting for serious scientific discussion between the historians and veterans but nobody wants to initiate such a debate. What we may observe in the meantime is something other and this is -- in my opinion -- much worse option. We do have strange historic paradox -- not the Germans accuse the Allies of mistreating the POWs but the ex-Allies do it between them. Real phenomenon. After WWII Canadian Maj.-Gen. George Kitching suggested Polish war crimes at Normandy (executing the POWs by Maj.-Gen. Stanisław Maczek's Armoured Division) as well as the same American war crimes done by the US Army's 90th Infantry Division. The US 90th ID veterans write about the Polish and French FFI war crimes at Normandy, the Polish veterans tell about the 90th's war crimes. Also Canadian Brig.-Gen. Jack L. Summers mentions Polish mistreating the German POWs. Etc., etc., etc. To sum up -- not so good situation and atmosphere. Sixty years long these problems run under the carpet in the official inter-Allied relations but it seems to be not the best solution.
On the other hand nobody in the West asks Polish veterans of the Normandy Campaign what did they see then in the field of mistreating or executing the POWs by the other Allies but I assure they saw the same things as they are accused of by the other ex-Allies. For me -- very sad facts in the inter-Allied relations. After 60 years the historians still are not ready to discuss about such things publicly, fair and square. Only American historian Stephen E. Ambrose had a civilian courage to state that in the ETO approx. 56,000 of the German POWs lost their lives in the American hands by all possible non-combat causes. Such a subject is a taboo in Poland as well though it is public secret what happened also to the SS/Waffen SS POWs taken in Normandy by the Poles. I know at least two private archives containing Allied veterans memoirs from Normandy about the killing the POWs. As always in such cases the memoirs are embargoed by the veterans and/or their families till 2010, 2030, 2050, etc. No simple rules in such cases.
I would be unable to write the Canadian military history of course. I quoted Tony Foster's book because the author shows various aspects of the war and he gives a chance for both enemies to tell about their viewpoints. This is, in my opinion, the best and the most objective publicistic manner of writting.
Tony Foster is a son of Maj.-Gen. Harry W. Foster, GOC of the Canadian 4th Armoured Division among others. Some time ago I changed several emails with Mr. Tony Foster and my impression is very good, he is normal Canadian citizen and patriot as all of you, maybe he knows about the war a little more than we? I do not know. He used for his book his father's archive and memoirs among others of course. As we know Maj.-Gen. Foster was extremely well-informed in the field of the ETO war crimes due to his membership in the post-WWII Canadian Military Court Martial but he also was a frontline commander with his own personal experience what is war.
No doubt Maj.-Gen. Harry W. Foster was not typical Allied general however. He wrote famous sentences related to his experience as the President of the Court sentenced Kurt Meyer to death. Some of the executed Canadian POWs had been his Brigade soldiers none the less Foster wrote:
Quote:
Originally written by Maj.-Gen. Harry W. Foster
There was an irony to this whole distasteful affair. Not because of what had happened to my men -- that was inexcusable. But then war itself is inexcusable. What struck me as I sat in my comfortable chair looking down at this hardnosed Nazi was that not one of us sitting on the bench, with the exception of Bredin, could claim clean hands in the matter of war crimes or atrocities or whatever you want to call them. It had not all been one-sided. Our troops did some pretty dreadful things to the Germans. Did not that make all of us who were commanding officers just as guilty as Meyer? I remember thinking at the time: you poor arrogant bastard. Except for any accident of birth and background our positions might have been reversed. In which case I would now be standing before you asking for justice at this meeting of generals.
Source:
Tony Foster
Meeting of Generals
Authors Choice Press, Lincoln 1986
ISBN 0-595-13750-4
Chapter "Prelude", page XXIII
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Best regards
(and do not shoot at me, friends)
C.
