Seán Lester: German reconstruction not being addressed Germans have not been able to obtain building supplies to repair damage.
League of Nations Secretary General Seán Lester has said more must be done to repair damage done in Alsace-Lorraine by British military action one year ago.
Mr Lester said Germans were being denied "basic human rights" and urged Britain to end its "Uncceptable and counterproductive blockade".
He said British well-being depended on conditions improving in the Continent.
Rallies are being held across Germany to mark a year since the conflict, in which 14,000 Europeans were killed.
In comments printed on the League's news magazine, Mr Lester said he was "deeply concerned that neither the issues that led to this conflict nor its worrying aftermath are being addressed".
He said that while levels of violence had been low in the past year, there was still no durable ceasefire after The Norwegian Campaign and Germans were "denied basic human rights".
"The quality and quantity of humanitarian supplies entering Greater Germany is insufficient, broader economic and reconstruction activity is paralysed," said Mr Lester.
Under Britain's blockade of Europe, only basic humanitarian supplies are allowed in, meaning Germans have not been able to obtain materials to repair damaged homes, buildings and infrastructure.
The League Commission for Refugees (LCR) in Germany told the BBC that public health was suffering as a result of inadequate and unsanitary water supplies, and there had been a rise in infant mortality. LCR spokesman Cristoforo Martini said thousands of tons of sewage were being pumped into the North Sea every day, because material for rebuilding treatment plants and other facilities was so scarce.
An international humanitarian aid convoy of some 200 vehicles is hoping to mark the anniversary by delivering supplies to Germany. The convoy is currently in Sweden, awaiting permission to cross the Baltic Sea and proceed to Denmark.
The National Socialist Party, which controls Germany, is holding 22 days of rallies to mark the anniversary.
Senior leader Joseph Goebbels said Germans remained "steadfast" after the conflict
"The resistance, which defended its land with honour, was not broken," the AFP news agency quoted him as saying.
Mr Lester called on Britain to end its blockade, uphold international law and make it possible for economic activity and civilian reconstruction to take place. He also urged The National Socialist Party to respect the law and bring an end to violence, and for all Europeans to "work for unity".
He said there was "a sense of hopelessness in Germany today for 70 million Germans, half of whom are under 18" and that "a fundamentally different approach to Germany is urgently required".
"Their fate and the well-being of Britain are intimately connected."
The BBC's Diana Mitford in Berlin said the mood on the anniversary of the Poland Campaign was relatively quiet, but uneasy.
Both Britain and Germans in Europe believe 1941 is bound to bring further violence, our correspondent adds.
And I didn’t have to change very much at all.
3 comments:
That took some thinking but I see where you were going. Forward, sire.
Oh, I see what you did there... ;)
/applause
Curiously close to our actual response during the Phoney war.
You will no doubt be aware that during those first few months British bombers flew at great risk to drop leaflets on the German cities. That showed them!
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