HOW GERMANY TREATS HER PRISONERS

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume XI, Issue 522, 18 May 1915, Page 2

HOW GERMANY TREATS HER PRISONERS

The ' Vlaamsche Stem,' of Amsterdam, has received the following letter from Antwerp: — ."A few days ago some of the Belgian civilians released from their captivity m Germany arrived at Antwerp. They came from several camps m Germany, and some of them even from districts arourid Koenigsberg m East Prussia. All looked destitute and exhausted, and some of them were still walking barefooted m their ' wooden shoes, just as they left their homes m the early days of the war, or were captured m the fields. Others walked with rags round their feet instead of shoe-*!, but every one of them complained of the bad treatment they experienced m Germany, with the exception of some who were fortunate enough to have been interned m Mecklenberg. There the prisoners' . camp was under the command of an officer who before the war kept an hotel m Antwerp. "It is very difficult to make these unfortunate men talk of their experiences. The majority of them belong to the working classes, and their five months' imprisonment has made them extremely shy. They hardly answer questions. The food they received m Germany was detestable. Their usual meal consisted of a cooked mixture of roots, chestnuts, and ■potatoes, and if there was not sufficient food cooked for all of them, soni3 pads full of cold water were added. Every fourth day' they received a loaf, of maize bread. At Koenigsberg, the majority of the prisoners suffered from indigestion. In one of the camps, 100. out of 1,800 prisoners died. On their way through Germany they were I^*l through the streets of - towns -guarded by soldiers, and the inhabitants .incited urchins to beat the prisoners with sticks. Everywhere they were - forced to work like slaves. They had to dig ditches, carry beams, and do all kinds of hard work, and those who did not work willingly were driven to it with kicks and blows. Alleged breaches of discipline were severely punished, and the culprit was usually tied to a post for one or more hours. It is remarkable that almost all the prisoners from Brussels had to undergo ' this kind of punishment. Generally speaking, .English prisoners were treated still Worse, and were even refused, the most urgent medical treatment.

" In some of the camps there wero also i Russian prisoners, the majority of them Jews. On their return journey from Germany the poor Belgians were left without food for four days. They did not know what was going to happen to them, whether they would be liberated or sent to • some other place, and many of them cried for joy when they arrived at Antwerp."