Saturday, September 22, 2007

How you treat prisoners matters

http://www.guardian.co.uk/secondworldwar/story/0,,2174648,00.html

...Foley used his official position as passport control officer in the embassy to save thousands of Jews from the death camps. He helped Paul Rosbaud send his Jewish wife, Hilde, and their only daughter, Angela, to the safety of the UK. But Rosbaud, who worked as a scientific journalist, insisted on remaining in Germany to fight Hitler's regime from within.

Born in Graz in 1896, he served in the Austrian army during the first world war. Rosbaud's experience of being captured by British forces, and his appreciation of their civility, created an enduring impression.

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The UK got one of their best secret agents in World War II because they treated him fairly when he was a prisoner of theirs. Think about that. How many sworn enemies are we creating by how we treat prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan, when we could be making a good impression instead.

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