The British Interned in SwitzerlandPicot, Henry Philip
History
The British Interned in Switzerland
Picot, Henry Philip
World War, 1914-1918 -- Hospitals; World War, 1914-1918 -- Prisoners and prisons, Swiss
In the moral region of the men's psychology I must refer to the subject
of swearing, of which a Chaplain at the front says: "He heard enough to
keep his hair on end for the rest of his life." This is a strange
experience, and I have no doubt he is not exaggerating, but I want to
tell you a fact, that neither I nor … ever in all our experience heard
even the mildest swearing, nor ever had to blush over low talk; and
what … said is just my own experience that in their intercourse with
us, at our own table, where some of them were every week, we found them
behave like gentlemen. I am not inclined to explain this by the fact
that having our confidences these men were loyal to our friendship. It
may be in some measure the reason, but I think it is owing to the fact
that those men came out of a terrible experience, an agony of soul,
that left its impression; in fact, they had, in religious language,
seen the face of God, and could never be the same again.
When I had it said to me that my influence over the men had been
accounted for by my sympathy with socialistic principles, I felt it
keenly, for it was neither true of me nor of the men I met. I was very
pleased to discover not the slightest inclination among the mass of the
men of any revolt against law and order, or discipline, when justly
administered, and the only instances of a spirit of revolt were when
the discipline revealed, as it did only very rarely, I confess, a
desire to hit the actor and not the act, or when it in fact seemed
revenge or anger against a particular man. I found, indeed, a very
general acquiescence in military orders, when the commands came from
officers that the men loved and trusted and who treated them as men,
with minds and feelings. That certainly could not be called socialistic
principles. The "Beloved Colonel" or Captain in the British Army is a
man the men continue to respect, and would follow to the death in the
path of duty.
What they (the men) want first of all is the human touch, the assurance
of comradeship, and only when human friendship has done its work
spiritual talk may follow—and perhaps not even then unless there is
abundance of kindly actions to your credit. The soldier quickly detects
if the dominant idea of the Padre is to bring glory to his Church, and
is not passion for doing good to all irrespective of their communion.
Among soldiers the religion without label is the most respected. It is
a distinct advantage to value at a minimum the petty divisions of the
ecclesiastical fold.
The psychology of Ps. of W. and of the Interned has also been the
special study of certain well-known Swiss doctors, amongst others, Dr.
Clement (Fribourg), Dr. A. L. Vischer (Bâle), and Professor Dr. Robert
Bing. Their views have been well summarized by Major Edouard Favre in
his work, "L'Internement en Suisse des Prisonniers de Guerre, Malades ou
Blessés, 1917," and may be briefly stated as follows:—
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account