Читать книгу The Better Germany in War Time: Being Some Facts Towards Fellowship - Harold W. Picton - Страница 59
Favourable and Humorous.
ОглавлениеOf the officers’ camp at Blankenberg i/Mark, Messrs. Jackson and Russell report, “The atmosphere of the camp is excellent.” There is a touch of humour in the report on Merseburg (l.c. p. 29). “One man complained to me that he had been punished for ‘having a hole in his trousers’ (as he said), but on investigation I found that he had cut a new pair of trousers, which had been given him by the German authorities, in order to make a pair of boxing shorts. One man had a black eye, another a sprained thumb, and a third a broken nose, as the result of boxing matches.”[10] The four English prisoners at Königsmoor said “that there was no discrimination against them of any kind, and their relations with the German guard were evidently pleasant. They all said that they had plenty of warm clothing, including overcoats, and one even had an overcoat which had been given him by the German authorities in addition to one which he had received from home. They said the food was ‘not bad’ …” At the working camp at Hakenmoor, “the midday ‘soup’ was excellent. … All looked in good health and seemed to be contented, and their relations with the German guards appeared to be friendly. … Several complained that the clothing furnished soon became too tight for comfort, and nearly every man in the camp had put on from ten to thirty (even more) pounds of flesh. None spoke of any bad treatment … although one Englishman said that there were occasional differences with the (Belgian) barrack captains. The Commandant is interested in his work; he knows most of the men by name, and seems to try to do all in his power to add to their comfort.”