American Red Cross, Prisoner of War complete Medical Kit No. 4 (1944)

The nearly 1.4 million American and Allied Prisoners of War in Germany and elsewhere were probably the most grateful beneficiaries of Red Cross services during World War 2. Many of them were lucky to return home alive because of the more than 27 million parcels prepared and shipped by the American Red Cross (ARC) to the International Red Cross Committee in Geneva, Switzerland, for distribution in the PW camps. Some 13,500 volunteers assembled the various packages in special centers in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and St. Louis. The first Prisoner of War packaging center already opened in Philadelphia in 1943, and the majority of these continued operating throughout 1945.

The “American Red Cross” provided, through the services of the International Red Cross Committee (IRCC), relief packages to help American PWs in enemy custody. These were sometimes equally distributed among other Allied prisoners, and in some cases helped ease the burden of civilian internees as well! Of course, it is known that in particular cases, these supplies were sometimes pilfered by the German guards or STALAG/OFLAG authorities and personnel. Another problem which affected the distribution of mail and packages arose toward the close of the war with the change in the overall military situation. The Allied liberation and occupation of France practically cut off German planes that used to fly daily from Lisbon, Portugal (neutral country), to Germany carrying air mail to Prisoners of War. Surface mail and next-of-kin parcels, which Red Cross ships formerly carried to Marseille, France, were stalled from June to October 1944. Fighting along the Marseille-Switzerland line made it almost impossible to move mail into or out of Switzerland (neutral country). In the meantime the numbers of American PWs tripled in number since June 1944.

In August 1944, the American Red Cross in cooperation with the US Post Office moved all accumulated parcels and land mail to Sweden (neutral country). Two freight trains subsequently carried it by land and ferry from Sweden (Goteborg) to Germany (Lübeck) in September 1944. Meanwhile the US Army Post Office transported next-of-kin parcels to Marseille and Toulon by Army transport, and from there via Switzerland to Germany. After September all letter mail was regularly flown to Switzerland or Sweden, whence it was forwarded directly on to Germany.