The Re-education was an essential factor for the prisoners in Great Britain, however, the success is doubtful. Some prisoners saw it like propaganda and like hate speeches on Germany while the goal of the re-education remained completely unclear. Beside the attitudes of a prisoner, even many other factors played an important role over success or failure of the re-education like for example an understanding commander, good quarters instead of tents, the food, the age etc. Many prisoners saw themselves as slave-laborer and the uncertain time of the repatriation had also an negatively effect to the re-education. The most important in the life of a prisoner was the mail. Years without a message, worries and longing was an obstacle also. When later the mail-service (only in the west of Germany) worked again the depressions through the heavy news from home were another factor. Reports about hunger, wives that expected a child of a foreign soldier or wanted to divorce without that the POW behind barbed wire could act, made the morals, that had climbed after resumption of the mail-service, sunk very fast. 

One of the most important factors, that influenced the success of the Re-education, were the experiences of the prisoners who were in foreign countries: 

1. USA
2. Canada
3. Belgium
4. SEP 

1. The 132.000 prisoners from the USA expected to come  home like promised. Instead, they came on direct way, or after a stay in Belgium, to Great Britain. The bitterness made them recognize no difference in a Hitler, who doesn't keep his promises, and the Allied Forces, that keeps no promises also. Especial the prisoners, who had to go over Belgium to Great Britain, were paralyzed by the shock of the treatment and felt as if they were a item. 
2. The 33.400 men from Canada knew the destination and their fate. Often they still had national socialism attitudes and provided a bad mood in the camps. The conditions of life, which were much poorer than in Canada,  confirmed the prejudices of the "Canadians". 
3. Most soldiers, who became a prisoner after the capitulation in Northern Germany, came over Belgium to Great Britain. At their arrival most of them were undernourished and sick. The starving men could not forget the local maltreatments (particularly in the camps 2221, 2224 and 2228). 
4. Approximately 14.500 men came as SEP (Surrendered Enemy Personnel) to Great Britain after most of them had to work since month for the Allied Forces in Germany, Italy and Austria. It was promised they would come just for 100 days to England, however, they were the last ones who got repatriated.

By so-called "screenings", the officials tried to determine the ideology of the prisoners and grade them in A, B and C, layered through plus and minus. A+ was a prisoner with a real anti-Nazi ideology and a tolerant and positive philosophy. Beside that he must be able to achieve constructive cooperation. In contrast C+ was a confident and fanatical National socialist. Usually, the prisoners didn't understand after which points of view they were classified. A former prisoner reports: "I can remember my 'Screening' very well: 'Name?' '...' 'What do you think about the government?' counter-question. 'Which government?' 'Yours of course! ' ' In what relationship?' 'Out!' And I was C!"  
The same was reported by a prisoner about his screening some when at the end of the war: "They asked me that time: 'Why has Germany lost the war?' I answered with a saying: 'Many dogs are the death of the rabbit.' As a result of that answer the interrogation-officer became so furious that he sent me out of the barrack immediately. Only that answer I have to owe that I was classified into the group C."   The prisoners marked the questions despise as stupid and politically. Later, when the classification had effect to the repatriation, despise changed to anger and bitterness.