hospital to which they were sent, and often a large percentage (up to 30% it is said in some cases) within the next three or four weeks. Their physical condition is vouched for by 33 medical officers who were prisoners: 10 of them immediately behind the lines who saw what was going on, and the remainder detained in the interior of Germany who saw and tended the prisoners on their arrival there.
The under-feeding of the prisoners on this front was aggravated by three things: First, the Germans did not notify the capture of large numbers of them in obedience to the Hague agreement of 1917; second, the prisoners were forced to give as their address some camp in the interior of Germany to which parcels were sent for them and, except in a few cases, not forwarded; third, steps were taken to prevent the French and Belgians giving the prisoners any food.
The Kommandantur at Mons on April 4 1918 issued a notice in French of which the following is a translation:—
“Conversation with prisoners is absolutely forbidden, as is giving them letters, food, or anything else. Breaches of this regulation will be punished by imprisonment for a maximum of three years or a maximum fine of 10,000 marks.”[1]
This was repeated on July 28 and on Sept. 9 1918 the Kommandantur again called attention to the matter, the notice of the latter date containing a passage of which the following is a translation:—
“Notwithstanding this warning, frequent breaches of the regulation have been reported. The Kommandantur, being responsible for strictly maintaining order, has instructed guards to use their firearms when it becomes necessary so to do.”[2]
This was no mere threat. Many civilians, women among them, were shot for attempting to help the starving prisoners, and many prisoners were shot on the spot even for attempting to pick up the remains of food which they saw in the road as they marched along.
This treatment was continued right up to the Armistice, when prisoners in the last stages of exhaustion and starvation stumbled into the British lines hardly recognizable as British soldiers. The High Command had faithfully kept their promise of “very short food, bad lighting, bad lodgings, no beds and hard work beside the German guns under heavy shell-fire.”
Prisoners Outside Europe.—Something must be added with regard to the treatment of prisoners elsewhere than in Europe, if only because serious complaints Were made on both sides as to their treatment with regard to accommodation and food, especially in East Africa. There can be no doubt that much suffering was endured by prisoners of both nationalities in this part of the world; but it was mainly due to the conditions of the campaign and to the climate, while on the British side there appears to have been much justification for the complaints which were made against individual Germans for their want of consideration for the devoted men and women missionaries whom the fortunes of war had brought into their hands.
Turkey.—Little can be said with regard to the application of the Hague Convention by Turkey, because the Government of that country made practically no attempt to conform to the regulations contained in it. Their treatment of prisoners varied from an almost theatrical politeness to the great, to complete indifference to suffering—almost to barbarism—in the case of men of little esteem.
These oriental characteristics may be best illustrated by the fate of the British prisoners captured on the fall of Kut el ‛Amara at the end of April 1916, when, as Enver Pasha stated, they became “the honoured guests of the Turkish Government.” The officers were sent by steamer to Bagdad and thereafter drafted to various camps in Anatolia. The men were marched 100 m. to Bagdad, in stifling heat, with no sort of organization for food transport or medical care of those worn out by the privations of the long-drawn-out siege. The Turkish commandant promised that the day's march should not exceed eight miles. He kept his promise for one day, and thereafter the men were forced to march from 12 to 18 m. a day, herded like sheep by mounted Arabs who flogged forward the stragglers. At night they lay out on the open ground without any shelter. Many fell out and died. At one point 350 men were left behind in a sort of cowshed, so sick as to be unable to move, and were picked up by the already overcrowded boats, where there was room only for the most desperately ill to lie down. Arrived at Bagdad, all but 500, who were too ill even for the Turks to force them forward, were sent on a 500-m. march to places where they were to work.
Out of a total of 13,670 of all ranks believed to have been captured at Kut, in the course of two and a half years 1,425 escaped or were repatriated, 2,611 are known to have died, while 2,200 were missing, and there were left in the hands of the Turks only 7,414, or little more than half of those captured.
Up to Dec. 1917 the Ottoman Government steadily refused to permit neutrals to inspect the camps, and though this concession was then made, it was so worded as in effect to be useless.
Bulgaria.—If due allowance is made for the backward condition of the country, it must be admitted that the treatment by the Bulgarians was correct, though complaint was made that British soldiers were flogged for disciplinary offences. This is permitted by the military law of Bulgaria but after representations were made on the subject the practice was abandoned in the case of British soldiers.
The food given the prisoners was the same as that given to the Bulgarian soldiers, and the hospital treatment was not less good than that given to their own men. The accommodation was rough but in general no worse than that of the inhabitants of the country. Every effort appears to have been made to improve conditions where they were remediable, and the authorities seemed anxious to treat their British prisoners with consideration. An unusual amount of liberty was accorded to the prisoners, and there is no little evidence of the kindness and friendliness of the Bulgarian civilians to the British.
Austria.—The few British prisoners captured by Austria were treated with consideration and in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention.
Negotiations during the War.—During the World War a notable step was taken in arranging for meetings between representatives of the belligerents for the discussion of matters relating to prisoners of war. In the spring of 1917 meetings had taken place between French and German representatives with useful results, and, largely owing to the insistence of Lord Newton, who was then in charge of the Prisoners of War Department of the British Foreign Office, a meeting between German and British representatives was arranged and took place at The Hague in June. Great Britain was represented by Lord Newton, Lord Justice Younger and Gen. Belfield, and Germany by Gen. Friederich and two others, the meetings being presided over by M. van Vredenburg on behalf of M. Loudon, the Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs. At this meeting arrangements were made for the repatriation of disabled combatants, for the internment of invalid interned civilians, for the repatriation of medical personnel still retained by the belligerents, and for the mitigation of certain punishments inflicted on prisoners of war. It was agreed that reprisals should only be carried out after a month's notice of intention to do so had been given and it was also agreed that all captures were to be notified with the least possible delay.
This meeting was followed by one which lasted from June 8 to July 14 1918, at which the British representatives were Lord Cave, Lord Newton and Gen. Belfield, the first-named being obliged to return before the agreement was signed. It contained no fewer than 60 articles with six annexes thereto, and dealt with the following subjects: the repatriation of invalids;
- ↑
The original wording was:—
“Il est absolument interdit de parler aux prisonniers ou de leur passer des lettres, des vivres, ou d'autres objets quelconques. Les infractions à cette prescription seront punies d'un emprisonnement pouvant s'élever à 3 ans, ou d'une amende pouvant atteindre 10,000 mark.”
- ↑
The original wording was:—
“Malgré cette défense, de nombreuses infractions ont été signalées. La Kommandantur ayant pour tâche de maintenir l'ordre le plus strict, les soldats de surveillance ont reçu l'instruction de faire usage, le cas échéant, de leurs armes à feu.”
