The Better Germany in War Time: Being Some Facts Towards Fellowship. Harold W. Picton

had no overcoats said that they could get them from the German authorities if necessary, but that they preferred to wait for the present to see if they could not be sent from home. All would like new boots, as they are not pleased with the wooden-soled boots provided locally.” Sir Edward Grey, writing just before the receipt of this report, referred to information “that the few British prisoners of war at this camp are very badly fed, and that parcels arrive with great irregularity, their contents being frequently abstracted.” In a reply dated a week later, Mr. Gerard (U.S. Ambassador at Berlin) writes that “in reply to a direct inquiry, which was made out of the hearing of any German officer or man,” the British prisoners at Ingolstadt “stated that there was nothing to which they would care to have special attention paid. The men were in good spirits, and there was no evidence to show that any of them were badly fed. All were in touch with their friends at home, and no complaint was made with regard to irregularity in the receipt of parcels.”

Favourable and Humorous.

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      Of the officers’ camp at Blankenberg i/Mark, Messrs. Jackson and Russell report, “The atmosphere of the camp is excellent.” There is a touch of humour in the report on Merseburg (l.c. p. 29). “One man complained to me that he had been punished for ‘having a hole in his trousers’ (as he said), but on investigation I found that he had cut a new pair of trousers, which had been given him by the German authorities, in order to make a pair of boxing shorts. One man had a black eye, another a sprained thumb, and a third a broken nose, as the result of boxing matches.”[10] The four English prisoners at Königsmoor said “that there was no discrimination against them of any kind, and their relations with the German guard were evidently pleasant. They all said that they had plenty of warm clothing, including overcoats, and one even had an overcoat which had been given him by the German authorities in addition to one which he had received from home. They said the food was ‘not bad’ …” At the working camp at Hakenmoor, “the midday ‘soup’ was excellent. … All looked in good health and seemed to be contented, and their relations with the German guards appeared to be friendly. … Several complained that the clothing furnished soon became too tight for comfort, and nearly every man in the camp had put on from ten to thirty (even more) pounds of flesh. None spoke of any bad treatment … although one Englishman said that there were occasional differences with the (Belgian) barrack captains. The Commandant is interested in his work; he knows most of the men by name, and seems to try to do all in his power to add to their comfort.”

Food.

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      In these reports the food is almost invariably referred to as good, and to save further quotations we may cite the evidence at Güstrow i/Mecklenburg as giving a fair general view of the case (January, 1916): “The men told me that while they depend on their home parcels for variety, a man who received nothing (as is the case with the Russian prisoners) could live on the food supplied, although in that case he would always be glad when meal time came.”

“Atmosphere.”

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      At Dyrötz, “the general atmosphere of the camp certainly seemed excellent, both on the part of the men and on the part of the authorities.” (January, 1916.) At Blankenburg “the Commandant has now adopted the practice of taking different officer prisoners of war with him for occasional walks in the neighbouring country.” “In a lazaret at Spandau,” writes Mr. Jackson, “I sat alone with Captain Coulston in the good-sized, comfortably furnished room which he occupies by himself. … Recently he had had a conversation with Her Royal Highness the Princess Friedrich Leopold of Prussia, who visited the lazaret, but ordinarily he had little opportunity to talk, as he speaks only a few words of German, French, or Russian. On my speaking of this, I was told that an effort would be made to have English-speaking German officers call on him from time to time.”

German Professors.

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      Attention is again drawn to the excellent work of Prof. Stange at Göttingen. “He has an office in the camp at which he is present for two hours every day, during which time he can be consulted by any prisoner, and has formed classes of study, which are well attended.” At Giessen, too, “Prof. Gmelin of the local university has taken a great interest in the prisoners and visits them regularly with a view to providing for their instruction.”

A Contradiction.

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      The following is important and I quote it in full. Mr. Osborne to Mr. Gerard. (February 23, 1916) (l.c. p. 62.):