ernment of the People's Republic of China shall examine the treaties and agreements concluded between the Kuomintang and foreign governments, and shall, in accordance with their contents, recognize, abrogate, revise, or reconclude them respectively."

The Central People's Government has examined "the convention for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded and sick in armed forces in the field, the convention for the amelioration of the condition of wounded, sick, and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea, the convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war," and "the conviction relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war," which were signed in Geneva on August 12, 1949, in the name of China.

The Central People's Government considers that the contents of the abovementioned conventions are basically conducive to a lasting peace amongst all nations and are in conformity with humanitarian principles and, therefore, has decided to recognize them.

The Central People's Government declares at the same time, that, in connection with these conventions, there are certain principles which the Central People's Government deems to be of extreme importance and must insist upon. These principles are, for instance, that the substitute for a protecting power shal be subject to the consent of the power to which the protected persons belong, that the detaining power shall not be allowed to be absolved of its liability even after the prisoners of war, or the wounded and sick, have been transferred to another power, that the protection provided for in the conventions shall be equally applicable to civilian persons outside the occupied territory, and that the prisoners of war who have been convicted as war criminals according to the principles established by the International Military Tribunals of Nuremberg and Tokyo shall not be entitled to the benefits of the convention concerned.

The Central People's Government is prepared to make reservations in regard to the provisions relative to these points, at the time of ratification, in order to assure more effective and satisfactory implementation of these conventions. The Minister of the Republic of China to Switzerland has been instructed to transmit the present statement to the Swiss Federal Council by note, for communication to the governments of the contracting powers of these conventions.— PEKING, JULY 13, 1952.

Accept, Sir, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.

BRUGGMANN.

I will come back in a little more particular to one of those reservations in just a moment, sir.

The pertinent articles of the convention with respect to prisoners of war which have been touched upon in the testimony which you have heard are articles 13, 14, 16, 17, and 38. These articles are in some measure very specific. I don't think that it would assist if I read them into the record, but I will tell you that they do require humanitarian treatment with respect to food, clothing, medical care, freedom from insult, public curiosity, the requirement that they give name, rank, serial number, and date of birth, that they are entitled in all circumstances to respect for their honor and person, and that they shall be treated alike by the detaining power, without adverse distinction based upon race, political beliefs, and so forth.

The CHAIRMAN. May I inquire whether any of those were contained in the reservations of the Communist countries?

Colonel GRABB. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. They acceded to all of those?

Colonel GRABB. They are bound by all of those; yes, sir.
Article 38 I would like to read, however, which states:

While respecting the individual preferences of every prisoner, the detaining power shall encourage intellectual, educational, and recreational pursuits, sports, and games among prisoners and shall take the measures necessary to insure the exercise thereof by providing them with adequate premises and necessary equipment.

The convention thus allowed prisoners of war to participate in intellectual, educational, or recreational pursuits which might include activities which it actuality were designed for Communist indoctrination or the fostering and development of attitudes favorable to such indoctrination.

The convention does prohibit the detaining power from compelling a prisoner to participate in such activity. There would, however, be no violation of the convention if a prisoner voluntarily engaged in these activities. Thus there is a slight loophole, if you would call it that, through which the Communist nations, engaged upon a program of mass indoctrination, might be able to drive a wedge if they were willing to overlook in many cases, as testimony before you has indicated, the fact that this must be a voluntary endeavor on the part of the prisoner.

The one reservation which I said I wanted to point out is the reservation by the Comunist bloc and by the Chinese Communists to article 85. Article 85 states that:

Prisoners of war prosecuted under the laws of detaining power for acts committed prior to capture shall retain, even if convicted, the benefits of the present convention.

This was, of course, an effort to make it certain that even if a socalled "war ciriminal"-I use it in quotes-were captured by one of the parties to the convention and tried by their laws, at least until the end of hostilities when things might be sorted out, he would continue to have the protecting power available to him, to have the right to clothing, food, and all the other privileges of the convention.

However, the Chinese Communists and the Soviet bloc stated as follows. They did not consider themselves—

bound by the obligation which follows from article 85 to extend the application of the convention to prisoners of war who have been convicted under the law of the detaining power in accordance with the principles of the Nuremberg trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity, it being understood that persons convicted of such crimes must be subject to the conditions obtaining in the country in question for those who undergo their punishment.

It is my feeling that this reservation appeared to detract from the value of the ratification of the convention by the Communist states, that a prisoner of war convicted of war crimes by such state would no longer be regarded by them as protected by the 1949 prisoner of war convention. This reservation assumes particular importance in the event the prisoner has made an oral or written statement or confessions which could be used by his captors as the basis of charges against him of war crimes or crimes against humanity. It does not appear, however, although we heard this morning testimony from Captain Harris that he was accused of being a war criminal and he went through a sort of mock trial, that this particular, I will call it gimmick, was used in any marked degree by the Chinese Communists to attempt to escape the obligations of the convention.

In other words, these people had already been denied the very basic fundamentals of the convention, the basic protections, and they did not appear to go through the machinery of calling them a war criminal and having a mock trial.

The CHAIRMAN. They just didn't go to that much trouble in most instances.

Colonel GRABB. Right, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. They treated them as war criminals, or substantially so, without any trial or anything else, while still retaining them as prisoners of war only. Is that correct?

Colonel GRABB. Yes, sir. It was suggested to me this morning while listening to Captain Harris' testimony that I might take 2 or 3 minutes to point out to the committee what I consider to be violations of the convention specifically taken from his testimony. I can say at the outset that it is almost a catalog of utter and complete contempt for the convention as if you set out from the outset to violate it in toto.

Among others, the convention provides that solitary confinement may not be imposed except in the most rare of circumstances and then for the shortest possible period of time. Prisoners shall not be shackled. They shall not be exposed to the curiosity and insult of the local populace. They shall receive adequate medical attention. Their food shall be of sufficient caloric intake and quality to be able to maintain them in a healthy condition. Account shall be taken of their native diet. The clothing of the PW must be marked as must the hospital facilities and, more important, the prisoner of war camp itself must be marked to protect it from attack by the prisoner's own side.

Clothing must be adequate. There must be permission to communicate with the homeland, the family, and friends. They must be paid. They must be given identity cards if they don't have one of their own. They must be free from mental torture. They must be free from physical maltreatment. They must be given ample opportunity to exercise. Officers may not be forced to work, although I notice that Captain Harris said one time they were forced to work and he looked upon as one of the better days that he underwent in the camp.

it

Most important of all, of course, is the failure of the Communist nations to provide a protecting power. There was no one to whom the prisoner could turn in the event that he felt he was being deprived of rights under the convention. The convention is very specific on the point that the prisoner must at all times have ready access to the representative of the protecting power who has been appointed to watch over his interests.

The CHAIRMAN. Who was the protecting power?

Colonel GRABB. Throughout the entire conflict, sir, Switzerland did its best to get protecting power personnel into North Korea and never succeeded. They were met with such obvious push-offs as North Korea stating that they couldn't get into North Korea except through China, and China would refuse to give them a visa. Then when China would give them a visa, they would be met with refusal by North Korea to give them a visa out of China into North Korea. The Swiss representatives spent months in Hong Kong trying to get in through China. They spent months in Russia, in Moscow, trying to get in through the North Korean and Chinese Embassies there. They were always told that no one was home.

Despite the efforts of this independent Swiss organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross, whom I am sure you are aware is an independent organization which has no real connection with the Red Cross as we know it, the American Red Cross-it is the International Committee of the Red Cross-the Swiss endeavored throughout the entire period of the conflict to get someone in and

never succeeded. As you are aware, we did permit the Swiss to police our camps.

The CHAIRMAN. Any questions?

Mr. KENNEDY. The matters that you have enumerated about Captain Harris' testimony are violations of the Geneva Convention, as you view it?

Colonel GRABB. Specific, clear and flagrant violations of the convention.

Mr. KENNEDY. Much of the testimony which has been given to this committee, which you have heard, have been violations of the Geneva convention regarding treatment of prisoners?

Colonel GRABB. Clearly, I would say, with the exception that in Captain Harris' testimony I am sure I missed a few incidents which I would consider as violations.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Colonel. You may stand aside. If we do not get another Senator present, we will just let the record stand as it is.

I, Lt. Col. Robert Grabb, do hereby certify that all of the testimony given me on Wednesday, June 27, 1956, before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in connection with "Communist interrogation, indoctrination, and exploitation of American civilian and military prisoners" is true and correct. ROBERT F. GRABB.

Subscribed and sworn before me this 2d day of July, 1956.

HOWARD S. LEVIE, Colonel, USA. The CHAIRMAN. General Erskine, you may come around, please. You may proceed by stating your name and your rank.

TESTIMONY OF GEN. GRAVES B. ERSKINE, MARINE CORPS (RETIRED), ASSISTANT TO THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL OPERATIONS

General ERSKINE. Graves B. Erskine, General, United States Marine Corps, retired, now Assistant to the Secretary of Defense as Director of Special Operations.

The CHAIRMAN. General, you have discussed with the staff the subject matter under inquiry and I believe you also appeared in executive session and testified?

General ERSKINE. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. If you are ready to proceed without counsel, you may do so, and give us your testimony.

General ERSKINE. I have a brief statement which I should like to read.

I appreciate the opportunity that you have offered the Department of Defense to present any additional information that might not have been brought out by previous witnesses.

You have heard a number of witnesses, many of whom are highly qualified in specialized fields and have had close personal observation and contact with many of the prisoners of war.

The conclusions which you will form as a result of the hearings will undoubtedly be similar to the conclusions which we have already reached within the Department of Defense and on which we have based corrective actions.

We have an abundance of evidence to attest to the fact that in Korea we faced, and we will continue to face in the future, a clever, deter

mined enemy who, by any civilized standards must be classified as little better than common gangsters. They have shown utter disregard for international law except when it serves their own cynical purposes. Their failure to abide by the provisions of the Geneva Conventions on Prisoners of War during the period of hostilities have been matched by their extensive violations of the Armistice Agreements for the last 3 years.

Since the Communists have given no indication of changing, we must be prepared for more of this in the future. The problem of resistance to Communist indoctrination by our military personnel requires corrective action in two different areas. The first of these is in the field of military training. For a military solution to this problem, we are turning to military discipline, more enlightened training, esprit de corps and morale. These are the most essential ingredients of any fighting force.

In May of last year, the Secretary of Defense appointed an eminently qualified committee of civilian and military membership to advise him concerning all aspects of the prisoner-of-war problem. The committee was in continuous session until they completed their report on July 29, 1955. On August 17, 1955, the President issued Executive Order 10631 which, for the first time in our history, established a Code of Conduct to guide and sustain our servicemen in the event of their capture. Under the guidance and supervision of the Department of Defense each of the services have developed a three-phase training program designed to strengthen the serviceman as to enable him to adhere to the principles of the code which are designed in his own best self-interest. Let me dispel any thought we are training young men to be prisoners of war. We are not. Our training is designed to teach our men how to evade capture, escape where possible, and if captured how to cope with the diabolical techniques known to be employed by the Communists.

The first training phase is designed to strengthen the character and moral fiber of all members of the Armed Forces. Each man is given a carefully planned program of motivational and educational training which extends throughout his service career. In addition, to the purpose and meaning of the Code of Conduct this training includes development of resistance to Communist political and economic indoctrination, a knowledge and appreciation of our American heritage, familiarity with our national war aims and character guidance including encouragement of religious beliefs.

The second phase is designed for all units and individuals in preparation for combat. Men are especially trained to develop mental and physical stamina under all conditions of combat, including capture. This phase stresses individual capability in evasion, escape and survival techniques. In addition, the serviceman is taught how to combat and survive the physical and mental conditions we know he must face as a prisoner of war under Communist control. He is taught to combat them individually and by organized resistance. He is taught to deal with informers, collaborators, and all other proponents of cooperation. He is trained to combat interrogation and indoctrination techniques such as false confessions, questionnaires and peace petitions. Technical training centers around the use of ruses, stratagems, evasion of disclosures, and the necessity for concealing vital