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
And so it went on. No trick was too knavish or too despicable to prevent
our guardian learning the truth concerning our plight. He very rarely
walked about unaccompanied. Tongue in cheek, the Germans, who always
were cognisant of the object of his visit, and who had always taken
temporary measures to prove the grievance to be ill-founded, strode
hither and thither with him, throwing knowing glances and winks among
themselves behind the representative's back. Doubtless it was the
successful prosecution of these tactics which persuaded the Embassy to
believe that the majority of our complaints were imaginary and arose
from the circumstance that the inhabitants of Ruhleben would persist in
ignoring the fact that they were the victims of war and not pampered
pets.
One of the most glaring instances of the effective manner in which the
Germans sought to disarm and to outwit an official visitor was narrated
to me by a fellow-prisoner who had been transferred from Sennelager to
Ruhleben. I conclude that the incident must have happened, during the
interregnum when I was "free on Pass" in Cologne. I cannot vouch for the
accuracy of the statement, but I do not think there is the slightest
reason to doubt the word of our compatriot, because he was in Sennelager
at the time and actually passed through the experience. Furthermore it
is typical of Teuton methods in matters pertaining to the treatment of
prisoners.
X---- stated that, despite the havoc wrought during the "Bloody Night"
of September 11, all the prisoners were still herded on the field at
Sennelager until long after my departure. They were exposed to the heavy
rains and were all reduced to a miserable condition. Suddenly an order
came up commanding all prisoners to return instantly to their old
barracks. This sudden manifestation of a humane feeling upon the part of
the Commandant provoked widespread amazement. What had happened?
The surprise of the prisoners became accentuated when they regained the
permanent buildings which had formerly comprised our home. They were
hurried into their quarters and shaken down with incredible speed. Fires
were set going and the unhappy prisoners made themselves comfortable
confident that their trials now were over, and that they were destined
to prolonged residence under weathertight roofs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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