Sixteen Months in Four German Prisons: Wesel, Sennelager, Klingelputz, RuhlebenTalbot, Frederick Arthur Ambrose
History
Sixteen Months in Four German Prisons: Wesel, Sennelager, Klingelputz, Ruhleben
Talbot, Frederick Arthur Ambrose
World War, 1914-1918 -- Prisoners and prisons
These criminals would do anything for us. The first night they tapped at
the door to our cellar, and, peeping through the cracks, we saw a number
of these degraded specimens of German humanity in their night attire.
They had heard who we were and begged for a cigarette. We passed two or
three through the key-hole. The moment a cigarette got through there was
a fearful din in the fight for its possession, culminating in a terrific
crashing. The gaoler had appeared upon the scene! Quietness reigned for
a few minutes, when they would stealthily return and whisper all sorts
of yarns concerning the reasons for their imprisonment in order to
wheedle further cigarettes from us.
We were "clinked" in Klingelputz, as the Cockney expressed it, on
November 6, 1914, and were kept in a state of terrible suspense. At
last one morning the prison officials entered and called out the name of
the three managers of the large works at the village in which K----
resided, who had been imprisoned with us. My friend and I naturally
expected that their order for release had arrived, and we waited
expectantly for their return to congratulate them, since their release
would be a happy augury for us. They returned shortly, laden with bulky
parcels of food which had been sent to them, and we all sat down to a
Gargantuan spread. But we had scarcely started the meal when the gaoler
entered and calling our names, ordered us to follow him to the office.
Here we had to answer to our names once more. Then the Governor, in a
sonorous voice, went on:
"Gentlemen! You are free men. Passes will be re-issued to you, but you
will have to go to the Polizei Prasidium to have the requisite papers
prepared."
At this intelligence we became wildly excited. K---- had been
anticipating such a development, but the process of deciding the issue
had been protracted from the slow pace and roundabout journey which such
matters have to take through the German Circumlocution Office. We
started off to the Prasidium, escorted, strange to say, by the two
officials who had arrested us at K----'s residence, and with whom my
friend was now conversing gaily. As we passed the cages the English boys
caught sight of me, and there were frantic yells of congratulation and
good wishes upon our good fortune.
Reaching the Prasidium we were ushered into an outer room, the two
officials proceeding into an inner room armed with our papers. While we
were waiting K---- turned to me and remarked:
"I hope they'll get us fixed up jolly quickly. Those two officers told
me that to-morrow all aliens are to be sent from Klingelputz to the
internment camp at Ruhleben. If we get our 'passes' we shall dodge that
excursion very neatly!"
While we were talking the two officials came out and hurriedly left the
building. They did not glance at us, and from their bearing I surmised
that something had gone wrong at the last minute. I turned to my friend.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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