The Better Germany in War Time Part 2

GARDELEGEN, SALZWEDEL.

Dr. Ohnesorg, of the U.S. Navy, inspected Gardelegen and Salzwedel.

Owing to typhus, the former was not completely inspected. Two hundred and twenty-eight British soldiers were interned here. Dr. Ohnesorg remarks that the situation is open, with natural drainage. There was a good and unstinted water supply. "I had a long talk alone with Captain Brown. He spoke well of the camp." "Work was being rushed on" for the complete eradication of the clothing louse which is the carrier of the infection. "It should be mentioned that the Russian prisoners, who are primarily responsible for the introduction of the disease, are quartered alone, ... but all the prisoners a.s.sociate with one another in the compound." At Salzwedel, out of a total of 7,900 prisoners, only 49 were British. The supply of water was unstinted. Shower baths and hot water were available. Each man could have a bath every three days, and the baths were being added to. In the hospital "the English doctor informed me that the medicines and treatment accorded to the sick were good."

"The majority of the English prisoners complained of not getting enough food and the monotony of the diet. The black bread was another point of protest. I myself was given a sample of the mid-day meal as it came from the kettle. It consisted of a thick soup containing potatoes, beans, and small portions of fish. It was palatable, and I should say nouris.h.i.+ng. The prisoners do not do heavy work, their work being police duties, etc. I must add that those whom I saw were well nourished, of good colour, and appeared to be in good physical condition. There were only a half-dozen on the sick list, and, with one exception, they were under treatment for wounds."

GUESTROW, MUENSTER (LAGER), SOLTAU, SCHEUEN, SCHLOSS CELLE.

Mr. Jackson reported on the first four of these. The Gustrow camp (Mecklenburg) contained about 6,000 prisoners, of whom 300 were British.

It is situated in the pine woods, and consists of "solid, newly-built wooden barracks, lighted by electricity and heated." Was.h.i.+ng and bathing facilities were good and the postal department well organised. "Clothing is furnished when required, _if asked for_."

"There are several workrooms, and most of the men who have trades can find something to do to occupy their time and can earn a little money.

"Most of the British soldiers spoke of harsh treatment immediately following their capture-at the beginning of the war-and while they were being transported to Germany, and several spoke of their having been handled roughly while in the tents. Others said frankly that most of those who had been treated badly since they came to the camp had done something to deserve it. In any event all admitted that their present treatment was good, and that there was now no discrimination against the British. British soldiers had never been called on to do more than their share of the dirty work about the camp. A party of Russians had always had charge of the latrines, voluntarily, in return for some small compensation. The spirits of the British prisoners seemed good."

The account of Munster is almost precisely similar-"solidly-built barracks," "good bathing arrangements," "well-arranged hospital."

Suggestive of the nervous strain of internment is the following: "Here the relations between the British and Belgians seemed cordial, and the former partic.i.p.ated in the recent celebration of King Albert's birthday, which the French declined to do."

At Soltau there were about 30,000 prisoners, princ.i.p.ally Belgian. Four hundred were British. German control was largely eliminated, but the results in this case do not seem to have been satisfactory.

"In this camp there seemed to be fewer German soldiers on duty than is the rule elsewhere, and practically the whole of its administration is in the hands of the Belgians, who have organised many courses of study (under Belgian professors) and who have a Catholic Church, a theatre, an orchestra, and a choir. The British complained that there is discrimination against them here (apparently more by the Belgians than by the Germans), and that they are not permitted to partic.i.p.ate in the administration or to be represented in the kitchen or post office.

Complaints were made about the food and the delivery of mail and parcels, and it was said that the Belgians objected to have them join in football games, etc. They also said that they were compelled to do much more than their share of fatigue work in connection with the latrines.

All these complaints were brought to the attention of the officer in charge, who promised to investigate them, as apparently but little attention had been paid to such matters so long as there had been no trouble in the camp."

At Scheuen near Celle a similar difficulty existed. There were 118 British out of a total of 9,000 prisoners. "The British non-commissioned officers muster their men and exercise some general control over them, but the French or Belgian non-commissioned officers are in charge of the barracks and designate the men who are to do fatigue duty. In consequence, it is claimed, British soldiers are detailed to such work more frequently than those of other nationalities.

On speaking of this to the Commandant, he promised at once to arrange so that a more fair division of work should be made in the future.

Otherwise the men made no complaint with regard to any discrimination against them."

ZUEDER ZOLLHAUS, WAHN.

The reports issued in Miscellaneous, No. 14 (1915) continue the inspections and reinspections up to the middle of May. As improvements were continuously being made in the camps, it is scarcely necessary to refer in detail to these further reports. There are reports on fifteen camps for military prisoners. Two of these reports (those on the "working camp" at Zuder Zollhaus and Wahn) are unfavourable, thirteen are favourable. At Zuder Zollhaus were 2,000 prisoners, of whom 479 were British. The camp was for prisoners who were willing to work on the land. "I was given to understand," writes Dr. Ohnesorg, "that this camp would only be occupied during the summer months." The inspector finds the hospital accommodation in this case "very crude." There were about thirty cases of sickness which should certainly have been removed elsewhere. The morning meal seems very small for the morning's work. It consists of either soup or coffee with 300 grammes (say 10 oz.) of bread. Altogether it is plain that improvements here were urgently needed. Dr. Ohnesorg, however, says: "All of them (the British prisoners) appeared to be in good physical condition.... The work is not hard, and they are permitted to take it leisurely.... They informed me that their treatment was good, they were not overworked, and practically the only complaint they had to make was that a more substantial meal to begin the day on should be given them." At Wahn the food was complained of, and the most unpleasant feature is that the Commandant did not seem on good terms with the British.

BLANKENBURG.

As regards the camp for officers at Blankenburg, Mr. Jackson writes:

The house itself is as comfortable as any of the places where I saw interned officers in England.... It is surrounded by attractive, well-kept grounds, in which a tennis-court has just been made.... There are several modestly furnished mess and recreation rooms, and a terrace which is used for afternoon tea.... The Commandant is interested in his work, and evidently does all he can to make conditions agreeable.

There were 110 officers, of whom nine were British.

SENNE.

At Sennelager Mr. Osborne reports:

The situation of the camp is good ... on very dry, sandy soil, surrounded at a few kilometres by pine forests. The buildings are good. Though there were the customary complaints about the food, more than half the men I spoke with expressed themselves as satisfied.... The men looked healthy, and they all stated that the general health of the camp was excellent.... There are shower baths with hot and cold water.... The men said they were well treated by the Commandants and the German soldiers and N.C.O.'s in charge of them.

The camps at Sennelager are large ones, and include more than two thousand British prisoners. Games, concerts, and theatrical performances help to pa.s.s the time. A play given by French prisoners was ent.i.tled: _Avant et apres la guerre._

MAINZ.

Of the officers' camp at Mainz, Dr. Ohnesorg reports that "The quality and quant.i.ty of the food was good and varied.... One and all the British officers spoke in the highest terms of their commanding officer, his kindness and courtesy, and said that they received every privilege which could be afforded them, considering their position." There were about 700 officers, of whom 25 were British. "If anything," says the American Consul at Wiesbaden in a later report on Mainz, "I should think the British officers would ... receive almost greater courtesy at the hands of their keepers than those of the other nations."

GENERAL REMARKS OF DR. OHNESORG.

Dr. Ohnesorg appends some general remarks on the camps he visited. In the following quotations I have omitted nothing which is in the nature of adverse criticism:

"On the whole the treatment accorded them is good, but frequent protests were made to me concerning the food-not so much because of its quality, as because of the insufficient quant.i.ty and the monotony of the diet.

The prisoners, however, appeared to be in good physical condition and well nourished. Appended are various weekly dietary slips. I had an opportunity in various camps to sample either the mid-day or the evening meal. I found them palatable and, I should say, nouris.h.i.+ng. Considering the fact that the men have practically no hard work to do, it appears to be sufficient in quant.i.ty, each man getting a liberal allowance-probably a litre and a half of food per meal.

"The treatment accorded the sick and wounded prisoners is excellent.

They are given every advantage of medicines and treatment, and special food when necessary. A dietary slip of the latter is appended. The same routine, the same food, etc., as in use in German military hospitals, apply for these various hospitals in prison camps.

"I found no discrimination made between prisoners of various nationalities. With the exception of Limburg, the British prisoners are housed with the Russians, French and Belgians, and this is the cause oft-times of complaint on the part of the English, especially if they are under the direct supervision of a non-commissioned officer of another nationality. Some of them stated that the work, i.e., the police duties, etc., largely because of this are not equally and justly divided.

"Every precaution is taken by the authorities against the spread of disease in camp. All the prisoners are vaccinated against smallpox, and are immunised against typhoid and cholera. Certain simple rules against the contraction of disease are posted throughout the camps, and the men are impressed with the importance of personal cleanliness. Baths are obligatory, the facilities affording each man a weekly bath under the showers.

"The water supply in the camps is good. In most of them it is connected with the city supply, and when not, Artesian wells have been sunk on the premises and water thus obtained. Taps are placed throughout the company streets, and the use of water is unstinted.

"As a rule, the prisoners were found to be well clothed, although not all in their own uniforms. Some were in French uniforms, and some in a combination of Russian, French, and British.

"In many of these camps, prisoners are loaned out throughout the country to work upon farms, and, in some cases, in various industries. This is entirely voluntary on the part of the prisoner, and this service is mostly accepted by the French. No British volunteer. These men have a guard over them, are housed and fed by their employer and receive five pfennigs a day in pay. It breaks the monotony of prison life, and many more volunteer than are needed for this work."

NEW REGULATIONS.

On April 24, 1915, the Prussian Ministry of War issued a new set of regulations respecting the maintenance of prisoners of war. They show great thoroughness and forethought, but I am afraid the average Englishman would be as unready to believe that they showed genuine good intentions, as the average German would be to believe that favourable regulations issued by the English authorities were really _bona fide_.

Yet, as it seems to me of general interest, I will here give the second regulation: "Self-management as regards catering has already been ordered for military and civilian prisoners' camps, as this system has been proved far preferable to the employment of contractors. Nearly all the complaints about the food come from camps where contractors are employed."

ERFURT, OHRDRUF.

It is impossible to do more than make very brief citations from the remaining reports. In no case is the report otherwise than favourable, and the food is described as good.

At Erfurt "the kitchens are clean, and the midday soup (which I tasted) was good". The British soldiers had no complaint against German officers or soldiers, but "they claimed that the French or Belgian non-commissioned officers caused them to be detailed as members of working parties more frequently than their fellow prisoners of other nationalities." This reminds us that complaints arise in inst.i.tutions other than those worked by "enemies."

At Ohrdruf "a number of men who had been treated for their wounds in the lazaret at Weimar spoke in the highest praise of their treatment by German doctors and nurses.... Some of the British thought (as at Erfurt) that they were detailed to working parties (by French non-commissioned officers) more frequently than the others, but otherwise no complaint was made to me of any discrimination against them." The British did not like the soup, "but almost without exception they seemed in good physical condition and in good spirits."

MR. GERARD'S COMMENTS.

"The food question," writes Mr. Gerard (U.S. Amba.s.sador at Berlin), "is of course a difficult one in a country where the whole population is put upon a bread ration. Most of the rumours current in England are without foundation or very exaggerated.... No British prisoner needs clothes in Germany ... and I have just learned that British prisoners at Zossen, to whom we sent clothes, shoes, etc., have sold these articles to the French prisoners and are asking for a second supply."