Red Cross parcel refers to packages containing mostlyfood,tobacco and personalhygiene items sent by theInternational Association of the Red Cross toprisoners of war (POWs) during theFirst andSecond World Wars,^[1] as well as at other times. It can also refer to medical parcels and so-called "release parcels" provided during the Second World War.

The Red Cross arranged them in accordance with the provisions of theGeneva Convention on Prisoners of War (1929). During the Second World War these packages augmented the often-meagre and deficient diets in theprisoner-of-war camps, contributing greatly to prisoner survival and an increase in morale. Modern Red Cross food parcels provide basic food and sanitary needs for persons affected by natural disasters, wars, political upheavals or similar events.

More recent catastrophes involving delivery of Red Cross parcels include events inGeorgia,Thailand andGreat Britain.

TheAustralian Red Cross reported dispatching a total of 395,695 food parcels and 36,339 clothing parcels to Allied POWs inGermany andTurkey during the course of theFirst World War.^[2] Food parcels were also sent to needy civilians in Belgium and France.

British POWs during the First World War were supplied with food parcels by the British Central Prisoners of War Committee of theJoint War Organisation, the combined Red Cross and Order of St John. When theCentral Powers refused to allow food to be sent to prisoners of war by the British government, the British Red Cross had stepped forward. Packages containing food and conveniences were sent fortnightly to POWs. Donations collected from the public for these parcels reached £674,908 19s 1d. A total of £5,145,458 16s 9d was spent.^[3] By the end of the war, some 9,000,000 food parcels and 800,000 clothing parcels had been despatched by various organisations to British prisoners abroad.^[4]

French POWs were required to pay for parcels sent to them through aFrench commission; these packages included potted chicken, variouspâtés, and even bottledwine.^[5]Indigent French POWs could receive parcels with lower-quality food for free, from the "Vetement du Prisonnier" which liaised actively with theCroix-Rouge française.

New Zealand relatives had to buy parcels and were given a choice:

Relatives could send a specific parcel or a package made up of A & C or B & C^[6] It is also noted that each POW was supplied with 400 cigarettes per month, provided by the Joint Council of the Order of St John and the New Zealand Red Cross Society. It was not permitted for private persons to send cigarettes or tobacco to POWs.^[7]

The American Red Cross commenced delivery of food parcels to American POWs in German camps in November 1917.^[8] The first parcel received by a POW included the following items:

Thereafter, further parcels were sent once per week. These were rotated on a four-week schedule between packages labeled "A", "B", "C" and "D". Each parcel contained meat, fish, vegetable, bread and fruit items, together with eightycigarettes or other tobacco products.^[10] Items ofclothing were also provided for American POWs through the American Red Cross.^[11] Toward the end of the war, German camp guards and other personnel would sometimes steal the contents of these packages, often leaving only bread for the helpless prisoner. In such events, American camp representatives attempted to make up the loss through stores kept for this purpose in the POW camps.^[12]

A special agreement between theYMCA and the American Red Cross resulted in the YMCA providing athletic equipment, books and games for American prisoners in German POW camps.^[13]

Red Cross food parcels during the Second World War were mostly provided from the United Kingdom, Canada and America (after 1941). An Allied POW might receive any of these packages at any one given time, regardless of his or her own nationality. This was because all such packages were sent from their country of origin to central collection points, where they were subsequently distributed to Axis POW camps by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

For POWs held by Axis forces in Europe the parcel route throughLisbon required escorted ships to bring the crates of parcels, or for British, mail bags full of parcels, to Lisbon, there being no safe conduct agreement. In Portugal, parcels would be loaded ontoRed Cross marked ships with many taken through theport of Marseilles, for onward freighting by rail toGeneva, from where they would be sent to various camps by theInternational Committee of the Red Cross.^[14][15]Barcelona was also used as an Iberian transit port, withToulon as an alternative French port.^[16] The returning ships sometimes carried allied civilians and wounded being repatriated.^[17]: 69

The route from Iberia to the South of France was not safe. The Red Cross shipSS Padua was damaged by British bombing inGenoa in 1942 and then sunk by a mine outside Marseilles in October 1943. TheSS Embla was bombed by British aircraft on 6 April 1944 causing a fire, and the same ship was attacked again on 20 April 1944, by AmericanB-26 bombers, who this time sank the ship and killed the ICRC agent. On 6 May the "Christina" was attacked while at anchor inSete. This latest act resulted in the ICRC suspending the route.^[18] TheOperation Dragoon invasion of Southern France, preliminary bombing in July and the actual invasion in August 1944 put a stop to rail transport^[16] and thenMarseilles being used by the Red Cross. TheSS Vega sailed to the alternative port ofToulon with parcels in November 1944.

On 8 May 1945, it was reported that 7,000,000 parcels, weighing 35,000 tonnes (34,000 long tons; 39,000 short tons) were at sea or in warehouses in Britain, Lisbon, Barcelona, Marseilles, Toulon, Geneva andGothenburg. A Red Cross representative said that they were not perishable and could be used for distressed civilians and as a flexible reserve.^[19]

During the Second World War, the BritishJoint War Organisation sent standard food parcels, invalid food parcels, medical supplies, educational books and recreational materials to prisoners of war worldwide. During the conflict, over 20 million standard food parcels were sent.^[20] Typical contents of such a parcel included:

The Scottish Red Cross parcels were the only ones to containrolled oats. Approximately 163,000 parcels were made up each week during the Second World War.

Sometimes, due to the shortage of parcels, two or even four prisoners would be compelled to share the contents of one Red Cross parcel.^[21]

TheAmerican Red Cross produced 27,000,000 parcels.^[22] Even before America entered the war in late 1941, they were supplying, through Geneva, parcels to British, Belgian, French, Polish, Yugoslav, Dutch, Greek, Norwegian, and Soviet prisoners of war. The Philadelphia centre alone was producing 100,000 parcels a month in 1942.^[23] A list of the contents of a typical Red Cross parcel received by an Americanairman held prisoner inStalag Luft I nearBarth, Germany on theBaltic Sea:

According to this airman, recipients of these parcels were permitted to keep only the cigarettes and chocolate bars; the remainder of the parcel was turned over to the camp cook, who combined them with the contents of other parcels and German POW rations (usually bread, barley, potatoes, cabbage andhorse meat)^[24] to create daily meals for the prisoners.^[24]

Cigarettes in the parcels became thepreferred medium of exchange within the camp, with each individual cigarette valued at 27 cents within Stalag Luft I.^[24] Similar practices were followed in other POW camps, as well. Cigarettes were also used to bribeGerman guards to provide the prisoners with outside items that would otherwise have been unavailable to them.^[24] Tins ofcoffee, which were hard to come by in Germany late in the war, served this same purpose in many camps.^[21] Contents of these packages were sometimes pilfered by German guards or other camp personnel, especially toward the end of the war.^[25]

TheCanadian Red Cross reported assembling and shipping nearly 16,500,000 food parcels during the Second World War, at a cost of $47,529,000.^[26] The Canadian Red Cross Prisoners of War Parcels Committee was led by Chairman Harold H. Leather, M.B.E., of Hamilton, Ontario and Vice ChairmanJohn Draper Perrin of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Contents of the Canadian parcel included:

Parcels did vary; those delivered to theChannel Islands by theSSVega in 1945 contained slightly different quantities, both eight oz (230 g) raisins and six oz (170 g) prunes, and marmalade instead of jam.^[14]

TheNew Zealand Red Cross Society provided 1,139,624 parcels during the war period, packed by 1,500 volunteers.^[27] Prisoners parcels included:

Unlike the American and British parcels, Canadian and New Zealand Red Cross parcels did not include cigarettes or tobacco.

Indian parcels, supplied by theIndian Red Cross Society, contained:

Indian parcels did not contain meat or tobacco products.

The Argentinian Red Cross provided parcels containing:

From the British South African Red Cross.^{[29][self-published source]}

Invalid parcels were specifically designed for invalids, i.e. disabled or ill prisoners. The contents varied, but what appears to be a British one contained:

In 1942, permission was granted by Japan for a diplomatically neutral ship, after Japan refused to permit a Red Cross ship to be deployed, to be dispatched to distribute the parcels. ASwedish vessel, theMS Gripsholm delivered 20,000 Red Cross parcels from Canada, America and South Africa and in addition a consignment of 1,000,000 cigarettes. A second voyage was refused.^[23]

TheJapanese government in August 1942 announced that no neutral ship, even a Red Cross ship, would be allowed to enter Japanese waters. Red Cross parcels intended for Allied POWs in Japan were accordingly stockpiled inVladivostok,Soviet Union, and a single ship was ultimately permitted to transport some of these to Japan in November 1944, which, in turn were carried by the Japanese vesselAwa Maru, carrying Red Cross markings, in March, 1945, to Singapore. How many of these actually reached the POWs is not known, and the sinking of theAwa Maru on the return trip by a US submarine prevented any future shipments from being made.^[30]

At theChangi prison camp run by the Japanese inSingapore, an average POW received a fraction of one food parcel in the three-and-a half years that the camp was open.^[31]

In November 1943, the Red Cross received permission from Nazi German authorities to send Red Cross parcels to inmates ofconcentration camps, but only to those whose names and specific locations were known. By May 1945, 105,000 specific individuals had been identified. About 1,112,000 parcels containing 4,500 tons of food were ultimately sent to the camps,^[32] including those atDachau,Buchenwald,Ravensbrück,Sachsenhausen,Theresienstadt andAuschwitz. In addition to food, these parcels also contained clothing and pharmaceutical items.^[33]

Three months after thesurrender of Germany in May 1945, GeneralDwight Eisenhower issued an order classifying all surrendered soldiers within theAmerican Zone of Occupation asDisarmed Enemy Forces, rather than Prisoners of War. Accordingly, the Red Cross was denied the right to visit German POWs in American prison camps, and delivery of Red Cross parcels to them was forbidden.^[34] In the spring of 1946, the International Red Cross was finally allowed to provide limited amounts of food aid to prisoners of war in the U.S. occupation zone.^[35]

The Canadian government conducted a detailed study of the effect of the Red Cross parcels on the health and morale of Canadian POWs shortly after the end of the Second World War. Over 5,000 former POWs were interviewed, and Canadian authorities determined that a significant number of soldiers did not get the intended one parcel per man per week; most had to make do with one-half of a parcel per week, or even less on some occasions. Soldiers were asked to state their preferences with regard to specific contents of the parcels: the most popular item turned out to be the biscuits, with butter a close second, followed (in order) by meat, milk (powdered and other), chocolate, cigarettes, tea, jam, cereals, cheese and coffee.^[26] The Canadian parcel was preferred to British, American or New Zealand-issued parcels, claiming that the Canadian parcels had "greater bulk", "lasted longer", and/or had "more food".^[26]

With regard to especially disliked foods, the Canadian respondents (over 4,200 of the interviewed POWs) expressed the greatest distaste for the vegetables and fish enclosed in the food parcels (about fifteen per cent of the total number of respondents), followed (in order) by condiments, egg powder, cereals, fat, cheese, desserts, sweets, beverages, jams, biscuits and milk. However, except for the first two items on that list, all of these were named by only a minuscule percentage of the total number of respondents.^[26]

• Belgium sent parcels to their POWs and in addition, family members could send parcels.^[36]
• Denmark sent parcels to Danish citizens incarcerated inNazi concentration camps.^[37]
• France sent parcels to their POWs and in addition, family members could send parcels.^[36]

A second type of parcel delivered through the Red Cross during the Second World War was the Red Cross Prisoner of War First Aid Safety Kit, which was supplied by the American Red Cross for distribution through the International Committee. Such parcels generally held the following items:

• A twelve-page booklet with instructions on the use of the enclosed medical supplies, printed in English, French, German, Polish and Serbo-Croatian
• Ten packages of sterilisedgauze, in two different sizes
• One package containing 500laxative pills
• Two packages containing 500aspirin tablets each
• Twelve gauze bandages
• Two cans ofinsecticide powder
• Four tubes ofboric acid antiseptic ointment
• Two packages containing 500sodium bicarbonate tablets each
• Two tubes ofSalicylic ointment (for treatment ofathlete's foot and similar fungal diseases)
• Two tubes ofMercuric antiseptic ointment
• Four tubes ofsulphur ointment (for treatment of skin diseases)
• One box containing 100Band-Aids
• Two rolls of adhesive tape
• Two 1-ounce (28 g) packages of absorbent cotton
• Safety pins, forceps, soap, disinfectants and scissors.^[25]

Other kits issued to some POWs through the American Red Cross contained a few differences in contents, but were generally similar to the above.^[38]

The British Red Cross also supplied Medical Parcels to Allied PoWs during the war. Prior to 15 June 1942, these kits generally consisted of:

• A general parcel containing cotton wool, safety pins, soap, aspirin tablets and ointment
• A disinfectant parcel
• Special parcels containing thermometers and dressing scissors.

After 15 June 1942, the British kits' contents changed. The new kits contained:

• An invalid food unit consisting of two parcels – milk and food
• A medical stores unit consisting of four parcels:

"Medical 1" contained soap anddisinfectant

"Medical 2" contained sodium bicarbonate,Dover's powder, lung balsam,ferric subsulfate solution,zinc ointment,cascara, zinc oxide powder,formalin throat tablets, ammoniated mercury ointment, flexoplast, lint, cotton wool, gauze,vitamin-C tablets, pile ointment,sulphapyridine tablets,magnesium trisilicate, and oxide plaster

"Medical 3 and 4" contained additional quantities of the supplies found in "Medical 2", adding to themkaoline poultice,vitamin A andvitamin D tablets,TCP (antiseptic), aspirin, Bemax,sulphanilamide and toilet paper.^[39]

In addition, German andItalian authorities sometimes permitted British prisoner hospitals to procure equipment from England via the Red Cross, includingmicroscopes,sterilisers, material for manufacturingartificial limbs, medical instruments,vaccines, drugs and even games and other recreational materials.^[39]

The American Red Cross provided a special "release parcel" to some Allied POWs upon their initial release from enemy captivity. These parcels included:

These kits were distributed as follows: 71,400 to France; 10,000 to the Soviet Union; 9,500 to Italy; 5,000 to Egypt; and 4,000 to the Philippines.^[41]

Following thecollapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, many pensioners in the newly independent nation ofGeorgia were left destitute by the resulting collapse of the Georgian economy and the inability of their small pensions to keep up withinflation. The Red Cross, with the financial support of the German government, assisted approximately 500,000 of these mostly elderly people with food parcels over a seven-year period during the 1990s. As of 2001, more than 12,000 were still dependent upon Red Cross food assistance.^[42]

Food parcels were also distributed by the Red Cross ofThailand duringRed Shirt Movement disturbances in 2006 inBangkok,^[43] and to British victims of flooding inGloucestershire in 2007. The British package contained:^[44]

• A. Y. G. Campbell, contributed to the creation of Red Cross Food Parcels
• Disaster relief

• Yarnall, John (2011).Barbed Wire Disease: British & German Prisoners of War, 1914-19. Stroud: Spellmount.ISBN 9780752456904.

• Final Report on the Canadian Red Cross Food Parcels for Prisoners of War Contains detailed information on particular "likes" and "dislikes" expressed by a group of Canadian Second World War ex-PoWs with regard to the contents of Red Cross parcels.

• International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
• Economic aid during World War II
• World War I
• Humanitarian aid
• Prisons
• Emergency management
• Humanitarian military operations

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