‘I am Just a Walking Letterbox in Which They Deposit Their Complaints’: Being a Spanish Delegate for the Inspection of German Prisoner of War Camps During the First World War (1917–1919)

Delegates from neutral countries, who, especially in the case of Spain, were active in the protection of prisoners of war during the First World War, remain a group requiring further analysis. This article will consider the experience of the Spanish delegates, who were particularly important between 1917 and 1919 for the inspection and protection of a wide range of Allied prisoners of war, in their role as intermediaries and brokers, but also as observers of German society and the increasing effect of problems of resources on that society. While showing how these individuals conveyed their impressions and understanding of wartime Germany in their correspondence, the article, which is based on abundant and newly discovered archival holdings, demonstrates the degrees to which humanitarian efforts intersected with clear hopes for symbolic and also material rewards. These considerations had an important impact on the delegates’ strategies and worries.