GERMAN INNOMANINY.

Grey River Argus, 11 April 1916, Page 6

GERMAN INNOMANINY.

SHOCKING TREATMENT OF BRITISH. PRISONERS. APPALLING REVELATIONS. (Per Press Association.) LONDON, April 9. No record of German inhumanity is .more' appalling than the record of the Government Committee,, whereof Mr. Justice Younger is president. Dealing with the typhus epidemic in Wittenburg early in 1915 among the British and other prisoners, the Avar report issued by the Press Bureau states that evidence has long been accumulating from returned prisoners, but it was considered so terrible that that the committee awaited the re turn of Major Pristly, Captain Vidal, and Captain Lauder, array medical men, who fought and con quired the epidemic: Their statements confirm the previous depositions. ■■-■- The Wittenburg camp of 1(M---acres held 16,000 prisoners in the winter of 1914. Overcrowding was serious and the winter was of the severest natuve. Heating was inadequate, obliging the men to keep the windqws shut, thus aggravating the overcrowding. The men were insufficiently clothed. Their overcoats- were taken by the Germans and clothing reduced so that rthey were in rags,. Many had neither boots nor socks Others wrapped ..-their* feet in straw. None were able to change their clothes as they had no means of washing, their clothes. The. food was bad and insufficient. The underfeeding was deplorable Even the canteen where they formerly bought additional food was closed when the first case of typhus appeared. Only when the epidemic was nearly overcome had they enough food, because they were able able to eat consign ments from England . It was impossible to allege a general shortage of medical requi" sities in Germany. English doctors saw abundant supplies in Wittenburg town,- yet the plaguestricken camp was starved for months. The barest necessities of existence and simple drugs were not even provided. There were scarcely any surgical dressings. Above- all,, the British suffered being the victims of special hostility from camps. At the begin ning the outrageous Germans decorated Dr. Ascbembach in view of his neglect wherefor hejnust answer one day. The report pays a warm tribute to the work of. doctors and order lies. ". All laboured unsurpassingly although fully conscious of the dangers, but risked their lives without thought. Many laid down their lives for their comrades as J rally as on the battlefield. The t committee hopes that tlior jlevo-

jtion will be rememberou at the proper time. The prisoners had not vitality sufficient to resist the disease. One cupful of soft soap had to last 120 men mairy Aveeks. The epidemic broke out in December, 1914. The. German staff Guards jfled. All supplies thereafter Avere .pushed . into • the camp doAvn a chute and food hauled in on rails. There Avas only one hospital sufficing 1 for 100 patients. The Germans on February 10th sent Majors Fry and Priestly, Captains Siitcliffe, Field, Vidal and Lauder to the scene. They had been made prisoners in defiance of the Geneva Convention. The men, Avho Avere gaunt and strangely pallid, received them in apathetic silence. The rooms Avere not lighted. The men inarch ed aimlessly up and doAvn. Some Avere already lying on the floor. The -conditions for four Aveeks from February 11th were full of horror. There were no mattress cs in the improvised hospital. The men dreaded to go there. Fifty secret cases were discovered in one compound containing 1000 men. Infected mattresses had to be employed, even in the hospital. The patients had to be carried on tables, at Avhich the prisoners afterwards fed, and the tables could not be washed owing to the absence of sqap. The Germans refused to allow typhus patients to be separated from the others. Men lay delirious in their clothes on tlit 9are floor. So closely Avere tney pack ed that they moved Avith difficulty. There Avere 1000 cases on March 7th, with 50 fresli cases daily. There Avas extreme difficulty in getting drugs and dressings, and Avhcn supplied they were hopeless ly inadequate. The men lost toes and feet, from posttyphus and gangrene. Many had their legs amputated from the same cause. One British soldier, iioav in England, lost both legs. There Avas 'practically no hospital clothing. There Avas only one small disinfector. The men had to Avear their outer garments Avhile the inner one was being disinfected or vice versa, because the blankets Avere insufficient to keep them warm. The washing of patients Avas'out of ,the question until much later, Avhen soap came from England. The dead Avere buried Avithin the camp cemetery, Avhich Avas so small that the coffins were piled up. I The hardest trial of all Avas to hear townspeople outside the entanglements jeering and iiisulcing the dead. Fry, Sutcliffe and Field died of typhus and also many deA r oted English prisoners who volunteered to nurse their comrades. The convalescents, w-ho were scarcely able to Avalk, Avere obliged to lie on the bare floor of the barracks, in the successful stamping out of the epidemic. It mentions that The report records tlie magnr nificent efforts of British doctors Dr. Aschenbach, a German medical officer, who fled at the first outbreak, only entered the camp once. He Avas completely protec ted, including mask and gloves He has since been aAvarded the Iron Cross for his services in com bating the disease. On one occ'j sion he- refused Fry's entreaty for necessaries, calling the victims "English SAvine.' The Committee tried to find jus tih'cation for this treatment, but can find none. It is olily in keep ing Avith the camp's history from the beginning. "Savage dogs" were employed to terrorise the prisoners, flogging them Avith Avhips frequently. The responsibility Avas therefor direct ly chargeable to the cruel neglect of the German officials. i