TEMPTED PRISONERS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12405, 24 August 1918, Page 5

TEMPTED PRISONERS.

IN A GUN FACTORY. GERMAN DUPLICITY. The following story of life in a munition factory at Cassol is reprinted from an issue of “ The Times, to whose Amsterdam correspondent it was furnished by a prisoner of war. The story is given in the latter’s own words: — HenscheTs steel factory before the war was a steel-producing (Siemens’s process and crucible furnace) and tool and machinery woj-ks. Since the outbreak of war it has naturally turned its whole resources to the production of munitions. Approximately 20,000 people were employed in this factory in the latter part of 1916, among these being 2000 prisoners of war, who had been sent there not knowing until they arrived the nature of the work they were to perform. The majority of the prisoners of wax, immediately they realise they axe at a munition factory, refuse to work, but either by force, persuasion or guile they subsequently remained there. This factory is situated much like an English steel or machine works. It . has different departments —i.o. melting furnaces, electric _ power-houses, steam plant, gas-producing plant, fitters’ and turners shops, steam-ham-mer forges, smiths’ forges, sheet mills, wire mills, an import and export department, and its own rolling stock. The method—or different methods of finally compelling a prisoner of war to work in one of these factories is rather peculiar. On arrival at the works prisoners are given a very good meal, with a few bottles of beef and things to smoke. They are then interviewed by the firm’s interpreter, a very, very clever linguist, and it is this gentleman’s duty to impress upon prisoners of war that it is not a munition factory. No, they only make bicycles, pen-nibs, pocket-knives, razors, etc. The field and siege guns, machine-guns and thousands of shells that you ses stacked iu every spare foot of yard—well, they paint those. _ Of course, whether you are British, French, Russian or Belgian, and though you were employed in your prewar days as a barber or bacon curer, you realise that this fellow is nulling your log. Because, surely (you think to yourself) it does not require furnace-', boilers, electric cranes and turning lathes to paint guns and shells, or to produce pen-nibs; and, lie-sides, you cannot see any paint at all. THE TEMPTER’S METHODS. Well, you flatly rofuso to start work, and our‘ before-mentioned linguist, who i 3 quite a gentleman, leaves you with your sentries for a time. He reappears shortly, accompanied by a German officer of high rank, who, he informs you, is in charge of the works and also of the prisoners of war, ami that he is invested with supreme power over every employee. He can, if he wishes, sentence you to death and to various other things. Well, you again refuse to work, and immediately you are surrounded by about twenty sentries, who playfully tickle you under tlm ear with the butt of their rifles or the end of a oayonet, and you regain consciousness to find yourself in an underground ced, quite close to the exhaust pipes of yavious machines, and you soon realist* you are neither in K.ew Gardens nor the Crystal Palace. You stick this for what seems to you a lifetime (it is usually, three, four, or (ive days); then suddenly your smoothtongued interpreter pops up like the devil out of hell, and asks, ‘‘Will you work now?” Should you answer in the negative the devil disappears and von are left to your own retlections for another three or Hvo days. Should you tell him you are thirsty and would like n drink of water, or hungry, having had nothing to eat for from three to live clays, he informs you that if you will consent to work you will have anything; in reason that you desire. Well, you are beat, and realise that it is better to await an opportunity of enabling you to get back to your lager which, in the circumstances, seems heaven compared with the shop where they paint guns and shells and make pen-nibs. So you accompany the slave-driver on a tour of the works. First he takes. you to the employees’ cliniurr hall, and as you have not had food, water, light, or recreation for from three to five days you do’ justice'to the really good food given to vou. Then when you are given a few kettles of lager beer and a cigar you begin to regard this devil opposite you not as a devil but as your guardian angel. Then over the drinks he un-

folds to you a. wonderful tale. I will give you the conversation which actually took place between the interpreter and myself. PAY AND PROSPECTS.-

Ho said: “If you will work for us at your trade (crucible steel smelting) we will pay you twenty-five marks (255) a day, out of which you must pay ten niarks for food and lodging. ' You shall live in a house in town with civilians and be allowed to wear civilian clothes. W hen your work is finished you may no anjwhere you wish, provided you are accompanied by the German in whoso house you are lodging. You can have ;u ‘Y. S"i you wish, provided she i. "illing, ami there is no rcm-n:i whv , you should be very eon; for tab is ;, ;u !. i Juiv.j a, lot of money saved bv the d;no ! die war is over. You will oulv bo required tp work sin days a . week, bub if at any tune you work on Sundays vou will receive double pay.” ' " “ A very alluring prospect,” I remarked, and then asked if I cohid have the remainder of the week to myself ' (two days), and also go into the furnace to become accustomed to the German metliwl of work, which I thought might bo dinoreiiu from ours. The interpretei icadily complied with the request and asked me to sign a. paper. This 1 received rather diplomatically, sayiim I d sign it on completion of the first t week s work. ' Well, my next two days were spent i in looking around the shops. The ‘ ; ““ly peculiarity I noticed was the truth ; ot the interpreter’s remarks concern- » ( ing women. In every branch of the i l works where a prisoner was employed lie 1 ;!‘ ld ' vomCn <™d girls ns neighbours. Ihe drilling, boring, slotting and turn- ; ing machines had, without exception, ‘ it operated by a prisoner, a machine on the the immediate right and left a woman or a girl. I questioned different Firendhmcn concern-; mg what I’d been told about the women, and learnt that it was quite true. As many as 500 prisoners of ? war were living with women, and were allowed as much freedom of movement after working hours as the Germans themselves. Marie you, don’t censure these men; they didn’t voluntarily go to this work of painting guns; they were forced, and are not to be blamed, but pitied And 1 do hope that some day they will receive recognition for the hopeless and futile resistance they put up before they finally succumbed to the 1 gentle persuasive methods employed by those blasted German slave traders. FOOD RATIONS. The food at these works is generally very good during the first month. Then you are dieted as follows: 1 Breakfast.—Coffee and 300 grammes (about lOioz) of bread. Dinner.—Soup, very watery. ■ Tea time.—Coffee, potatoes. Supper.—Soup or coffee and potatoes. The living accommodation is exactly as in the lager—one large room, bolding 200 or 300 persons. You have a bed sack filled with strawy, and two blankets. Your straw sack is quito close up to your right and left neighbours. You Seat, sleep, and drink inside these barracks. The latrines are also inside, • as you are only allowed out under es- ] cort. But if you have succumbed to | the charms of a fraulein and are a skilled workman and willing, then, as * I’ve pointed, out. you may live together. I think I have stated all the outstanding features of interest at such a factory. Before concluding let me impress upon anyone who may read this story that it is absolutely true, with this’ exception, that I’m doubtful whether the name of the firm is Hcn- ■» schall’s or Hcnschel’s, but it is an ammunition factory in Casscl. “ My informant (states the “ Times ” Amsterdam correspondent) adds that be § managed to get out of this inferno witliI out doing one second’s work, but how I is another story.”