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
During one of these visits the prisoners of Barrack 6 defied authority.
They had petitioned the officials incessantly to improve their quarters
but to no purpose. The cause for the greatest discontent was the
absolute lack of light. The loft was nothing more nor less than a "Black
Hole." On this occasion the tenants had been sent to barracks with the
strict injunction that they were not to come out again until the
ambassadorial inspection had been completed. But the prisoners were not
disposed to permit this deliberate hoodwinking of our protector to
continue indefinitely. The representative had been taken to a typical
[_sic_] barrack to observe the appointments and to satisfy himself
concerning the German efforts which had been made to render the tenants
comfortable. As usual he found no apparent justification for the
complaints which had been made.
He was being escorted to inspect some new latrines which had recently
been completed. To reach the latter point he had to pass Barrack 6, in
which the boys were on the alert to seize the opportunity for which they
had been waiting quietly. When the representative was but a few yards
distant up went the shout in unison, "Come and see our barrack! Come and
see our barrack!"
The guards endeavoured to smother the hail, but for once they were too
slow. The representative heard the cry, stopped, and doubtless impressed
by the vehemence of the invitation, expressed his intention to make an
investigation. I mention this incident to emphasise the point that the
Embassy was always ready to deal fairly with the prisoners, and to prove
that a great deal more would have been done on our behalf had the
visitors been given a freer hand.
The chagrin of the German entourage escorting the ambassadorial deputy
was amusing to observe. Behind his back they frowned, glowered, and
glared fiercely, shook their fists, and muttered stifled incoherent
curses, but when he turned to them they assumed a meekness and
pleasantry which quite disarmed suspicion. Still, their anger, as they
followed him into the building, was so intense as to defy being masked
and afforded us, who were witnessing the episode, the most complete
satisfaction and ill-disguised delight.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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