Doc. No. 24 (E).
Memorandum Concerning the Clauses of the Peace Treaty Connected With Italy’s Waiving of Credits Arising out of the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War (Art. 66, No. 5)
Article 66
The last [clause] of paragraph 5 establishes the waiving of all claims and credits arising out of the conventions now in force concerning prisoners of war. This means cancelling, among other things:
- a.
- Credits arising out of wages, or such like, not paid to Italian prisoners of war. This applies not only to those who have not yet been repatriated, but also to those who are already at home and to whom the United Nations have not yet paid all that they are entitled to.
- b.
- Credits arising from advance payments made by Italy to prisoners belonging to the Allied and Associated Powers and which, according to the terms of Article 23 of the Geneva Convention of July 27th 1929, should be refunded by the latter.
It should be remarked, to begin with, that the conventions regarding prisoners of war were stipulated in order to regulate relations between belligerent States concerning the obligations and rights arising out of a war and during a war.
Obviously a clause which, at the end of hostilities, regulates the above-mentioned relations otherwise than provided in said conventions, does not appear justified.
The need to settle this point is so deeply felt that some of the United Nations are already paying in full to the Italian prisoners, at the moment of repatriation, the sums due to them. Moreover, the cancelling of this type of credit (especially those listed under letter [subparagraph] a which amount to large sums) would seriously affect the Italian State budget and, together with the other economic clauses of the Treaty, would increase the danger of inflation and prove unbearable for the already exhausted finances of the Italian Government. On the other hand Italy cannot neglect the claims of her prisoners of war, most of whom belong to the poorest classes.
Lastly, it is inadmissible, for both moral and juridical reasons, that Italy should be asked to accept these renunciations for the period after October 13, 1943, when Italy formally declared war on Germany.
On that date Italy was recognised as a co-belligerent by the Allied and Associated Powers and as a consequence of this fact, Italy decided to engage all the country’s armed forces in the fight for the liberation of her territory. However, the Allied Powers, though they had proclaimed Italy a co-belligerent, refused to change the juridical status of Italian prisoners of war and strictly applied the Armistice clauses.
The result was a clear distinction between free Italians who were fighting and Italian prisoners of war who were asked by the Allied Powers to co-operate in the common war effort despite the rules of the Geneva Convention which forbids employing prisoners for work directly connected with warfare. Most Italian prisoners accepted land thus became “co-operators”. Consequently, some Powers, by unilateral decision, paid them better, though always less (military pay included) than their militarised workers.
Altogether it would seem unfair to refuse Italian cooperators the pay they are entitled to, just as any other militarised worker, for work done for various countries as a contribution to the common victory of the Allied and Associated Powers. The settlement of these matters might become the subject of special agreements between Italy and each of the countries concerned.