II. CIVILIAN PRISONERS.

Resident Enemy Nationals.

A few extracts from Dr. J. M. Spaight’s important work, “War Rights on Land,” will be useful as an introduction to this section. “Resident enemy nationals,” runs Dr. Spaight’s marginal summary, “are not interfered with” (l.c., p. 28). The text proceeds: “The treatment of resident enemy nationals has undergone a great change for the better in modern times. Ancient theory and practice regarded them as enemies, individually, and admitted the right to arrest and imprison them. The last instance of this rigorous rule being put in force is Napoleon’s detention of British subjects who happened to be in France when war broke out in 1803. Present usage allows enemy nationals to depart freely, even when they belong to the armed forces of the other belligerent.” The State has the right to detain such subjects, but usage is against it. Again, “‘Present usage,’ says Professor LeFur, ‘does not admit of the expulsion en masse of enemy subjects resident in a belligerent’s territory, save when the needs of defence demand such expulsion....’ The bad precedent set by the Confederate Government in 1861, when it ordered the banishment of all alien enemies, has not been followed in subsequent wars. France and Germany allowed enemy subjects to continue to reside in their respective territories during the war of 1870-1, but the former country was led by military exigencies to rescind the general privilege so far as Paris and the Department of the Seine were concerned, at the end of August, 1870. A Proclamation was then issued by General Trochu which enjoined ‘every person not a naturalised Frenchman and belonging to one of the countries at war with France’ to depart within three days, under penalty of arrest and trial in the event of disobedience. The incident is instructive as showing usage [viz., non-interference with resident enemy nationals] in the making; for though there were 35,000 in Paris alone, and their expulsion was clearly justifiable as a measure of defence, the general opinion in Europe was that they were harshly treated, and a sum of 100 million francs was claimed, as part of the war indemnity, in respect of the losses they sustained in being driven out. It shows, as Hall observed, that public opinion ‘was already ripe for the establishment of a distinct rule allowing such persons to remain during good behaviour’ (Hall, International Law, p. 392). The usage has been strengthened by the precedents set in the Russo-Turkish War in 1877-8, the Chino-Japanese War of 1894, and the Russo-Japanese War, in all of which enemy residents were suffered to remain.”

Origin of General Internment.

How did it come about that this more humane usage was in the present war departed from? The average Englishman, I fear, assumes that all the blame is in this case due to the enemy. The following correspondence should make the matter clearer. [See Miscel. Nos. 7, 8 (1915).]

Memorandum communicated by American Embassy, October 17, 1914.

The American Embassy has the honour to submit the following copy of a telegram which has just been received from the Secretary of State at Washington relating to civilian prisoners in the United Kingdom and Germany:

There are a very few English civilians in Germany who have been placed in prison or in prison camps—about 300. The German Government is informed that a great number of German civilian prisoners—over 6,000—are in prison camps in England. Department is requested by Ambassador, Berlin, to suggest that liberty, so far as possible, be allowed alien enemies detained by war.

Mr. Page, United States Ambassador in London, to Sir Edward Grey. (Received Oct. 31.)

American Embassy, London,

October 30, 1914.

Sir,—I have the honour to transmit herewith enclosed the attached copy of an open telegram I have received from the Minister at Copenhagen relating to reports on the imprisonment of German subjects in England.

Inasmuch as the Minister at Copenhagen has dispatched this to the Secretary of State at Washington, it seems probable that I shall receive definite instructions from him to transmit it to you, but in view of the desirability of an early consideration of the matter I now venture to submit this copy of the telegram for your information.

I have, etc.,

Walter Hines Page.

Copy of Telegram received October 29, 1914.

Following telegram sent to Department to-day (by the Ambassador at Berlin):

The Foreign Office requests this Embassy to find out through the American Embassy in London whether the reports concerning the imprisonment of German subjects in England are well founded. Unless a reply is received from the British Government before November 5 that all Germans who have not rendered themselves especially suspicious have been released, the German Government will be obliged to take retaliatory measures, and accordingly arrest all male British subjects in Germany between 17 and 55 years. American Minister, Copenhagen.

Copy of Telegram received from Berlin by the American Embassy, November 3, 1914.

Are Germans over 45 being arrested wholesale in England? If arrests are only of those under 45, I may be able to keep English over that age out of jail. Will not British Government allow all over 45 to leave? That is the legal military age here, and no one over that age can be compelled to serve.

Sir Edward Grey to Mr. Page, United States Ambassador in London.

Foreign Office,

November 9, 1914.

Your Excellency,

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency’s note of the 30th ult., and of subsequent notes informing me of the attitude likely to be adopted by the German Government with regard to the measures that have been taken in this country for the detention of German subjects of military age.

The decision of His Majesty’s Government in this respect being clearly irrevocable, the communications which you were good enough to transmit did not appear to call for an immediate reply, although, as your Excellency is aware, the German Government threatened, and have since carried out, reprisals against British subjects in Germany.

At the same time, I hope in due course, when the measures taken here have assumed a definite form, proper consideration having been given to reasonable claims for exemption as regards particular categories of persons, to address your Excellency further on the subject, with a view of obtaining the release at least of British subjects in Germany who correspond to those categories.

I may state at once that no Germans over the age of 45 are being arrested.[13]

I should, however, be glad if your Excellency would endeavour to bring home to the German Government that His Majesty’s Government are faced with a problem which does not apply to the same extent in Germany.

There are, roughly, 50,000 Germans resident in this country, and the presence of such large numbers of the subjects of a country with whom Great Britain is at war must necessarily be a cause of anxiety to the military authorities who are concerned with taking adequate measures for the defence of the realm.[14]

In detaining persons who might, in certain eventualities, become a source of danger to the State, His Majesty’s Government are only acting in accordance with the dictates of a legitimate and reasonable policy, and they would be clearly lacking in their duty to the country if they neglected to safeguard its interests by allowing the continuance of possible risks to the public safety.

In proceeding as they have done they have only had this one consideration before them, and it has never once been their intention to indulge in a domestic act of hostility towards German subjects as such, or in any way to inflict hardship for hardship’s sake on innocent civilians.

Every endeavour is being made, as Your Excellency is aware from Mr. Chandler Anderson’s report on the concentration camps, to mitigate the inconvenience to the persons detained, and to provide the best possible treatment for them under the circumstances.

As time goes on it is hoped that it will be possible to improve further the necessarily austere conditions of the military discipline to which the prisoners are bound to be subjected, and every endeavour is being made already to rectify any mistakes that may have occurred, both in the arrest of persons who should properly be exempt, and in the régime, which, through its hurried organisation, could not fail to contain a certain number of defects at the outset....

Into the case for and against general internment I do not propose to enter; it has nothing to do with the main purpose of this book. It does, however, concern that purpose to point out first that the general internment of resident enemy nationals (whatever its justification in any particular case) is contrary to modern usage, and second that the order for general internment was given first not in Germany, but in Britain. The popular view on this subject is erroneous. The German order was issued as a “reprisal,”[15] but, once issued, it was carried out with dispatch, a dispatch which was, of course, easier because of the comparatively small number of British subjects in Germany.

It will, I think, be useful to quote some further letters. The first document is an extract from a telegram received, via Copenhagen, by the U.S. Embassy in London on November 7, 1914. The telegram is from the Ambassador (Mr. Gerard) at Berlin, and conveys the representations of Mr. Chandler Anderson, of the American Embassy in London, who was at the moment in Berlin. Anderson says:

Tell Foreign Office that there is no compulsory military service required by German law for men over 45, and any men over that age serving in the army are volunteers. Agreement to release all men over 45 would produce better understanding, refusal is regarded as questioning truth of their assurances, which were endorsed by our Ambassador. Would like to settle these matters while here, and want to leave on Tuesday or Wednesday. Am arranging to have someone from this Embassy return with me to report, for information of Foreign Office here, about concentration camp and reasons for internment of civilians, in order to establish common basis for their treatment and provisions and clothing furnished and pay of officers, on the understanding that accounts will be balanced at close of war or at stated intervals.—Gerard, Berlin.

American Minister, Copenhagen.

The following documents deserve careful consideration:

Memorandum communicated by American Embassy. November 9, 1914.

The American Embassy has the honour to submit the following copy of a telegram which the Ambassador at Berlin has sent to the Department of State at Washington:

“Order for internment British between 17 and 55 has gone into effect. This does not apply to clericals, doctors, or women, or to British subjects from colonies or protectorates where Germans are not interned. German Government wishes to receive official information regarding such colonies, as it understands Germans are interned in South Africa. Germany is willing to release men over 45 if England will do so. Germans over 45, except officers, have no compulsory military obligations.”

American Embassy, London, Nov. 9, 1914.

Memorandum by Sir Edward Grey.

The American Ambassador asked me to-day whether the American Embassy would be allowed, as reports were being made in Germany about the treatment of German civilians in England, to send someone to visit the Germans interned in Newbury and Newcastle.

The Ambassador also said that he had received specific complaints from Germans interned in Queensferry.

He has given me the following copy of a letter from the American Ambassador in Berlin.

The object of the Ambassador’s enquiry is simply, by bringing out the facts, to prevent false statements from doing harm in Germany, and at the same time, I assume, to contribute to the remedying of any grievances that may exist.

The American Ambassador in Berlin is, I know, doing all in his power to secure good treatment for British subjects in Germany, and I think that it would be desirable to let the American Embassy here have full information as to our treatment of Germans.

I have, etc.,

E. Grey.

Foreign Office, November 13, 1914.

Mr. Gerard to Mr. Page.

American Embassy, Berlin.

November 8, 1914.

Sir,—Although it may already be too late to be of much practical effect, I feel it my duty, in the interest of humanity, to urge upon you to obtain some formal declaration on the part of the British Government, as to its purpose in ordering the wholesale concentration of Germans in Great Britain and Ireland, as is understood here to be the case. It is known here that many of the Germans interned belong to the labouring classes, and that their position is actually improved by their internment, and it is recognised that the British Government has the right to arrest persons when any well-founded ground for suspecting them to be spies exists. Great popular resentment has been created by the reports of the arrests of other Germans, however, and the German authorities cannot explain or understand why German travellers who have been taken from ocean steamers should not be permitted to remain at liberty, of course under police control, even if they are compelled to stay in England. The order for the general concentration of British males between the ages of 17 and 55, which went into effect on the 6th inst., was occasioned by the pressure of public opinion, which has been still further excited by the newspaper reports of a considerable number of deaths in concentration camps. Up to the 6th considerable liberty of movement has been allowed to British subjects in Germany,[16] and, as you were informed in my telegram of the 5th, many petitions were received from them setting forth the favourable conditions under which they were permitted to live and to carry on their business, and urging the similar treatment of German subjects in England. I cannot but feel that to a great extent the English action and the German retaliation has been caused by a misunderstanding which we should do our best to remove. It seems to me that we should do all in our power to prevent an increase of the bitterness which seems to have arisen between the German and English peoples, and to make it possible for the two countries to become friends on the close of the war.

I have, etc.,

James W. Gerard.

Mr. Harris to Mr. Gerard.

Frankfort-on-Main,

November 9, 1914.

Sir,—In a letter of the same date as this I have referred to the return from Giessen of four officers sent to Giessen, and returned again to Frankfort and to Nauheim, from which they came. I referred in this letter to the commander of the XVIIIth. Army Corps here. The commando is in charge of Excellenz de Graaf, who has, as he tells me, an American wife, and who through the past few months has shown this consulate all possible consideration, as it seems to Mr. Ives and myself. Twice during the great press of the first few weeks of the war, he came to the office in person and made known his desire to assist us in any way possible. Both Mr. Ives and myself have had occasion to go to the commando many times on various errands, and in nearly every case we have been granted the things we desired. It would be difficult to find a man at home or abroad with a more pleasant manner than de Graaf’s, or who shows less of the harsh or severe. Many of the English have gone to him, and they in all cases, so far as I have heard, speak in highest terms as to the way he has received them, and as to the entire freedom given them in this city until the order of last Friday.

I have gone into the matter just a little because of a vicious and, I think, wholly unwarranted attack in the papers, in which Mr. George Edwardes, of London, is made to say quite improbable things as coming from de Graaf, and perhaps made our work just a little more difficult. Whether this be the case or not, I am sure you will be glad to know that the commander here has given ample evidence of desire to meet Mr. Ives and myself in every request we have had to make of him.

I have, etc.,

H. W. Harris, American Consul-General.

The “entire freedom” allowed to English in Frankfort until the reprisal order was made out is a fact that should be emphasised. It bears out the idea that it was British action which brought about the general internment order in Germany. Moreover, the reports as to ill-treatment and deaths produced the same kind of effect on the other side as they did on this. Of course, there were grave hardships on both sides, and, indeed, Sir Edward Grey allowed (vide p. 79) that “the régime ... through its hurried organisation, could not fail to contain a certain number of defects at the outset.”

The régime, like some other steps taken in this war, was too hurriedly arranged in response to newspaper agitation. The Cologne Gazette, complaining that Germans are treated like pariahs in England, asks if Englishmen in Germany are “to enjoy for ever a life of gods unmolested.” (Daily Chronicle, October 29, 1914.) The old demand for “reprisals,” leading to counter-reprisals and a crescendo of cruelty.

In Austria no general internment order was made. The Daily Chronicle correspondent, writing in January, 1915, from Vienna, spoke of the freedom of all foreigners there, even when the subjects of enemy Governments. All such subjects, his host reminded him, “enjoy full, or nearly full liberty, whereas in Great Britain and France Austro-German subjects have either been clapped into prison, or at any rate confined in a camp or barracks.”

Civilian and Military Prisoners Compared.

“Confinement in a camp or barracks” sounds a small thing. It is really, wherever it occurs, a rather terrible thing. The universal experience is that civilians suffer under this restraint more than soldiers, and consequently are more “difficult” to deal with.[17] There are, I think, various fairly obvious reasons for this difference. To the soldier the prison camp is an escape from worse horrors, the soldier is inured to a large measure of monotony, he is also inured to military control and certain peculiarities of the military manner. To the civilian the prison camp is a change from freedom to confinement, from comfort to hardship, often from prosperity to ruin. The civilian’s life has been one of varied activities, and becomes one of almost unrelieved monotony. He is in most cases quite unused to military control, and feels himself degraded to a kind of servitude. Used to a separate and individual life, he is forced into contact, day and night, with others not of his own choice, and often antipathetic to him. He finds himself deprived of every vestige of privacy, and his thoughts revolve often round chances gone, work lost, hopes vanished, a wife living in penury, and a future altogether dark. If anyone will try to picture such a life continued not for weeks or months only, but for years, he will, I think, feel that hysteria, loss of mental balance and actual insanity are consequences that are only too likely to follow.

Civilian control for civilian prisoners seems in general to be desirable. Military control was practically withdrawn from Ruhleben in the autumn of 1915. At a few camps here, such as the one at Cornwallis Road, it is practically absent, and I feel this is one reason why, writing in March, 1916, the U.S. Attaché was able to report that there had at this camp been no attempts at escape.

There was much that was harsh and bad in the earlier days of internment in Germany, but the official U.S. reports certainly make us aware of cordial German co-operation in improving matters. The unofficial account, moreover, of Dr. Cimino (“Behind the Prison Bars in Germany”) astonishes me chiefly by the amount of politeness which it reveals in the German official.

There will always be stupid officials, and complete military authority is a very dangerous thing. This obvious conclusion should be recognised as applying (to some extent at least) to both sides. It is a rather dreadful thing to be under more or less hostile restraint, whether one be German or British. “Even if ideal conditions prevailed, one could not remove the unavoidable feeling of restraint and the sorrow of separation of men from their wives and families. There is in all the camps a feeling of gloom which one visitor said ‘haunted him for days.’ It is scarcely surprising that feelings of resentment should arise. Many of the men have lived in this country for twenty or thirty years; some have come over here as young children, some are even unable to speak German; very many have married British wives and have come to regard themselves as citizens of this country. The visit of someone who is not in authority over them, but who will listen to their troubles and give them a kind word of encouragement, has done very much to lighten the bitterness of confinement.” So write the Emergency Committee in their second report on their work for the assistance of Germans, Austrians and Hungarians in distress. Dr. Siegmund Schulze, who has worked for a similar organisation in Berlin, writes: “It appears that those who have recently expressed their opinion in the British Parliament have taken the complaints of a few dissatisfied prisoners as a basis for their general opinion. We can quite understand these complaints, because we notice among all prisoners that the longer the imprisonment lasts, the greater is the feeling of dissatisfaction.... It is noteworthy that in the English utterance even the trustworthiness of neutral reports is doubted; for example, the statements of the American Ambassador are regarded as pro-German, therefore distorted. Frl. Dr. Rotten and I have heard a great number of neutral opinions on the prisoners camps; I have myself discussed the conditions of the detention camp with neutrals who have visited them, and ascertained the truth as to their reports. Our verdict can only be that there is absolutely no question of any conditions which would constitute an infringement of international law, or which could imperil the health of the soldiers.... Moreover, I have in Ruhleben formed my own opinion as to the condition of the prisoners. I acknowledge that the depressed state of mind in which the prisoners must naturally be after more than six months’ imprisonment has an effect upon their reports, and that many prisoners are in a state of suppressed rage. On the other hand I cannot but say that after the removal of certain insanitary conditions there have been absolutely no substantial complaints made by the prisoners. Much as I regret the position of the prisoners, among whom I have many personal acquaintances, I must, on the other hand, say that the accommodation and also the behaviour of the officers is, on the whole, as humane as possible under the difficult conditions. The American Attaché, Mr. Jackson, who formerly visited the detention camps in England, and has now again visited the German detention camps, has confirmed to me the assertion which he made to the Commandant of the Ruhleben Camp, viz., that if he were obliged to choose where, among the countries now at war, he would be interned, he would certainly choose Ruhleben.... Without doubt, as is now apparent everywhere, an imprisonment extending over a long period, say, for instance, a year, means far more for men of the present generation than one could have thought. I consider it possible that many prisoners who are detained for such a long time will return to their homes with an essential deterioration of their mental condition.” These last are very grave, and indeed terrible words, words that I fear only too accurately represent the facts, but yet, as Dr. Schulze continues, “We ought not to conclude from this that we are justified in making reproaches against the other country in respect of the treatment of prisoners, but rather conclude that we should work energetically towards the termination of the war.”

The mental suffering (stagnant suffering) caused to civilian prisoners (in Britain, as elsewhere) is, I fear, very far from being understood. The following few sentences may give some glimpses—I was going to say “enlightening glimpses,” but, alas, they are only glimpses into the darkness: “Our visitors in talking to the men in the camps receive from them many kinds of requests; of these by far the most frequent and urgent is that their wives and families may be visited. For one reason or another, letters from home very frequently do not reach the prisoners, and often for weeks or months together they receive no word of their families.” The report goes on: “One man’s wife was at the point of death when he left her and her young children; another’s wife with several children was addicted to drink, and was only kept from it by her husband’s influence; in other cases children were left behind with no mother to care for them.” (The quotations are from the second report of the Friends’ Emergency Committee, January, 1915.) To imagine the anguish of these cases, whether in Germany or in Britain, is to shrink as from a blow. Many will feel that the policy of general internment was unavoidable. But we may surely show generous sympathy where an unavoidable policy has brought great misery upon thousands who were innocent. Such sympathy, as we shall see later, always assists reciprocal sympathy on the other side.

Some Reports on Ruhleben.

I will now turn to the consideration of reports on individual camps for civilians. The most important German civilian camp, of course, for us, is that of Ruhleben. If I cite a Report on the Meeting of the Camp Committee held there on February 4, 1915, a good deal as to the general management of the camp will become plain. [Miscel. No. 7 (1915) p. 67.]

The following minutes of a meeting of the select committee of the camp committee and of the overseers,[18] which was called by Baron von Taube on February 2, were read by the Secretary:

At 6-30 p.m., Baron von Taube received a select committee of the camp committee in the presence of the assembled overseers of the latter. Messrs. Powell, Fischer, Jones, Blakely, Cocker, Overweg, Asher, Hallam, Russel, Aman, and Jones were present; also[19] Messrs. Delmer, Butcher, Stern, Scholl, Mackenzie, Horn, Klingender, Butterworth, and Hatfield.

Having greeted the assembled members, the Baron proceeded to say that he thought it would be best if only three or four delegates from the camp committee were to discuss matters directly with the overseers. He expressed his views and compared the management of the camp with the administration of a town of 10,000 inhabitants. Too many participants might only render the work of the overseers more arduous. He therefore suggested that at the meetings of the overseers, the select committee of the camp committee should consist of from three to four gentlemen with deciding votes. The suggestion was accepted. Thereupon the Baron informed the meeting that Messrs. Butcher, Klingender, and Stern had been proposed. In reply to this, Mr. Delmer, chairman of the camp committee, said that from among the eight men whose names had been submitted, three or four should from time to time be chosen as delegates according to their special knowledge and the business to be transacted. After a short discussion it was agreed, upon the proposal of Mr. Powell, that three or four gentlemen should, as delegates from the camp committee, take part in a general meeting of overseers to be held once a fortnight. At these meetings a strict account of the work of the overseers during the interval should be rendered. On the proposal of the chairman, Mr. Delmer, it was further agreed that delegates of the camp committee should have the right at all times to require the overseers to furnish explanations of any incidents affecting the interests of the camp. A motion of the chairman, which was also approved by the Baron, was to the effect that, in order to spare the overseers’ committee time and trouble, any incidents occurring in the camp should be thoroughly sifted and investigated by the camp committee, and then reported to the administration as soon as possible by a single competent deputy through the overseers.

The presiding overseer welcomed a further motion by the chairman, Mr. Delmer, which was as follows: In the interests of the necessary reciprocity, a delegate of the overseers should attend the meetings of the camp committee.

Mr. Klingender drew attention to the two points contained in the camp committee’s letter to Baron von Taube. The Baron said he agreed with the contents of the letter.

At the conclusion the chairman (Mr. Delmer) remarked that the camp committee had been formed with a view to beneficial co-operation with the overseers, and for the advancement of the existing organisation, and that it intended loyally to carry out this principle, of which words the Baron graciously took note. The chairman (Mr. Delmer) then expressed his hearty thanks in the name of the assembled members of the camp committee to the Baron for his presence and for the consideration he had kindly given to the arrangement, whereupon the Baron said that he would be very pleased personally from time to time to take part in the meetings of the camp committee.

Baron von Taube then closed the meeting.

The secretary announced that he had laid a copy of the minutes before the Baron, who had kindly accepted and signed it, and had, with his own hand, written on it the words, “Have taken note of the minutes and agree on all points.”

The chairman greeted Mr. Fischer, overseer of hut 3, who was present as delegate of the overseers. The meeting proceeded to discuss the following matters:

Latrines for Invalids.—At the last meeting the camp committee had requested a member to procure information on this matter. Mr. Fischer reported that the small latrine between huts 3 and 4 (which was formerly intended for women) should be used for this purpose. A door with a lock would be put in. Permits would probably be issued by the doctor or his representative. The overseers had for a long time striven to obtain permission for the sick to use the water closets, but these for the most part were not in the premises which were at the disposal of the military authorities, and therefore could not, even on payment, be opened. He would again inquire if it were not possible to obtain a closed water closet for the sick.

Postal Matters.—Questions concerning the postal regulations and the censoring of letters were brought up. A member expressed his intention of obtaining precise information and of reporting thereon.

Outbreak of Diarrhœa.—It was announced that 78 cases had occurred at hut 1.[20] Mr. Fischer was asked whether the number of cases in each hut was known to the overseers. He replied that they had furnished a report on the previous day. It was suggested that in such a case the overseers might with advantage seek the assistance of the delegates of the camp committee, and especially in the present case, as the overseers were much occupied with other work, and could not collect complete statistics.

Bread.—The question of the quality of the bread was raised; it was alleged that bread insufficiently baked and bread which consisted of remains insufficiently ground together was sometimes distributed. As 2,000 of the prisoners were penniless, the question was one of great importance. Mr. Fischer said that bread of inferior quality, if returned immediately, would be exchanged.

Youths Under 17 Years of Age.—It was alleged that not all the prisoners under 17 years of age had yet taken the necessary steps to obtain their release. The meeting, however, thought that it was the presence of young sailors, for whose release repeated application had been made, that had produced this impression. These sailors, however, were in quite a different position from the civilian prisoners. Civilian prisoners under 17 were released. The overseers had the matter under consideration.

Washing.—Mr. Whitwell had taken cast-off clothing from the rubbish-box. He had had them washed, and found that they were still serviceable. In his opinion, the whole of the camp washing could be done by two machines costing about 60M. each. Mr. Fischer observed that the overseers had given this matter their attention, but that great difficulties would arise if any proposals adverse to the concessions granted by the military authority to private concerns were to be made.

The meeting was then adjourned.

We may next cite an unofficial statement:

Statement Respecting Conditions at Ruhleben Communicated to Home Office by two Released Civilians on March 18, 1915.

Mr. John P. Bradshaw, of Ballymoney, co. Antrim, and Mr. William David Coyne, of Ballyhaunis, co. Mayo, both British subjects, arrived in England on the March 15, having just been released from detention at Ruhleben on account of their unfitness for military service.

The following statement has been made by them to the Home Office:

They were examined by the Camp Doctor, and released as unfit for military service.

A fortnight ago all who considered themselves unfit were invited to send their names in with a statement of the grounds of unfitness.

A week later all were asked to state where they would go if released from Ruhleben, but few of the real British subjects were anxious to be released now unless they can leave Germany because of the bitterness against England.[21]

Since March 7 a very important change has taken place in the food supply to the prisoners; thanks to investigations by Rittmeister von Müller, the caterer has been dispensed with. It is believed in the camp that the United States authorities prompted these investigations.

The German authorities provide bread which is of better quality than formerly. The allowance is over half a pound per man per day, i.e., more than the civilian population is allowed, but it is believed that a regulation has been made, though not yet brought into force, to reduce the bread allowance to correspond with that allowed to persons outside the camp. Bread is no longer purchaseable at the canteen.

The Government allows 60 pfennige (just over 7d.) per head for the rest of the food. The canteen committee buys 100 grammes of meat (gristle, bone, etc., included) per man per day. Pork is much used, then comes mutton, and, more rarely, beef.

The meat is cooked in the soup and each man is given a piece about the size of a cutlet with his soup at midday. The spare pieces are divided amongst the men from the last barracks to be served; the barracks take it in turn to be last.

On one day a week dinner consists of a piece of sausage and rice and prunes.

A piece of sausage is now served with the evening tea or coffee. This sausage is bought out of the savings under the new system.

The rest of the savings on the catering and the profit on the sales at the canteen go towards providing clothes, etc., for the poorest men in the camp.

The meat is inspected by two of the prisoners, one a veterinary surgeon and the other a butcher; it is cooked by ships’ cooks who are interned, and served by men chosen from among the prisoners. The food is said to be well cooked and the meals quite appetising, at any rate when compared with the previous régime.

The two men named above received all parcels sent to them. Formerly parcels took about four weeks to reach the camp from England, but now they arrive in ten to twelve days.

The officials are scrupulously honest as regards money owned by or sent to the prisoners, except that they pay out in paper or silver, whereas they took in gold. Money is paid out to those prisoners who have an account at the rate of 20M. per fortnight, but an extra 20M. can be obtained for the purchase of boots, clothes, etc., if shown to be necessary.

The correspondence regulations are now that one postcard with nine lines of writing may be sent each week, and two letters, each of four pages of notepaper may be sent per month. In addition, business letters may be sent to any reasonable extent.

A dramatic society has been started and recently gave its first performance, Shaw’s “Androcles and the Lion.” Admission was free, but seats cost from 20 to 40 pfennigs, not according to the position of the seat, but according to the means of the purchaser.

Baron von Taube and Graf von Schwerin make a point of being present at all entertainments organised by the prisoners, and make a short speech of thanks at the end. Since the trouble over the food has been settled the relations between the officials and the prisoners have greatly improved.

A month ago all British colonial subjects were re-arrested and interned. [Miscel. No. 7. (1915). P. 81.]

We now come to the official U.S. report of June 8, 1915, with accompanying letters. [Miscel. No. 13 (1915)]

Mr. Page, United States Ambassador at London, to Sir Edward Grey. (Received June 15.)

The American Ambassador presents his compliments to His Majesty’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and has the honour to transmit, herewith enclosed, a copy of a letter he has received from the Embassy at Berlin, dated the 8th inst., enclosing a report made by Mr. G. W. Minot upon the conditions at present existing in the British civil internment camp at Ruhleben.

Mr. Gerard has added a postscript expressing the hope that this report may be published together with his covering letter.

American Embassy, London, June 14, 1915.

The need for publication was obvious in view of the character of the rumours circulated in this country, but, unfortunately, when published as a Government White Paper, such a report falls into but few hands, while newspaper extracts from the White Papers can, in general, scarcely be described as selected without bias.

Enclosure 1. Mr. Gerard to Mr. Page.

American Embassy,

Berlin, June 8, 1915.

Sir,—I have the honour to transmit to you herewith a triplicate copy of a report made by Mr. G. W. Minot upon conditions at present existing in the British civil internment camp at Ruhleben, Spandau. In connection with this I beg to say that the devotion to duty and uniform kindness of all the camp authorities has been wonderful and the relations of our Embassy with them always most agreeable. It is impossible to conceive of better camp commanders than Graf Schwerin and Baron Taube.—I have, etc.,

James W. Gerard.

The last sentence is noteworthy. Commendation of the Camp Commanders could not be more emphatic.

Enclosure 2. Mr. Minot to Mr. Gerard.

June 3, 1915.

Sir,—I have the honour to submit to you the following report upon various improvements which have taken place in the civil internment camp for British prisoners at Ruhleben-bei-Spandau since the month of November, 1914:

Of the 4,500 British civil prisoners interned in Germany, approximately 4,000 are at this date held at Ruhleben, the remaining 500 being scattered in small detachments in various other internment camps. The German Government have arranged that these detachments shall be absorbed by Ruhleben, so that within a few months all the British civil prisoners interned in Germany will be in Ruhleben. The difficulty of enlarging the facilities of Ruhleben and the necessary precautionary measures of quarantining have made the process of combination a long one, but there is every reason to believe that it will soon be completed.

The increase in the number of prisoners at Ruhleben has necessitated substantial additions to the barracks, most of which were overcrowded at the beginning of the war. Eight new barracks of one storey have been erected (four being already occupied), affording accommodation for 120 men each. These barracks are substantially built of wood, with well-set floors and large windows. The roofs have been waterproofed with tarred paper, and the walls stained to resist the rain.[22] In the four new barracks which are now occupied a small room for the guard has been added, but in the new barracks this has been considered unnecessary, as it is hoped that the guards in the barracks at night may shortly be dispensed with. The last new barracks has been built with a special view towards housing convalescent or delicate persons. Partitions have been erected so as to cut up the barrack into small divisions, and two water-closets have been installed. A new washhouse for these barracks has been erected, with shower baths and washing troughs.

The construction of the new barracks, the transfer of some hundred persons to Dr. Weiler’s sanatorium, and the release of about a hundred persons have made it possible largely to reduce the crowded conditions of the “obens,” or lofts, of the old barracks. Twenty per cent. of the occupants of these “obens” have been removed, and it is estimated that when the new barracks are fully occupied another 55 per cent. will be removed from the obens, so that only a quarter of the original occupants will be left there.

The most signal improvement which has been effected in the last two months has been the permission afforded the prisoners to use the ground encircled by the race-track for the hours from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The space thus gained is approximately 200 yards by 150 yards, and affords a splendid field for all kinds of games. Materials for the various sports have been provided by the camp, including the laying out of a football field and a small golf course. This ground has provided a chance for every interned prisoner to take part in some form of good out-of-door exercise or for those who so desire to move out their chairs to the field to watch the games. Permission to use the grandstands from 8 a.m. to 8-30 p.m. has further been obtained. As the stands are of modern brick and cement construction, a large enclosed hall is formed underneath the tiers of seats. In this hall a stage has been erected and a complete theatre installed with scenery, dressing-rooms, orchestra, etc. Performances, varying from Shakespeare to musical shows, are given practically every night. The betting boxes have been boarded up to afford small rooms for study, musical practice, etc. In other parts of this building space has been allotted for a carpenter’s shop, a tailor’s shop, barber and cobbler’s shop. The grandstand tiers have been turned over to the educational department for schools and lectures, which are systematically conducted. Black-boards and other materials have been provided for the department.

A favourable account of Dr. Weiler’s sanatorium follows. About this sanatorium individual expressions of opinion have varied.

Mr. Minot’s report next gives a list of improvements effected at Ruhleben, under such headings as Laundry, Whitewashing, Beds, Dentist, Business Post, etc. The report then proceeds:

It can be seen from the above that very considerable improvements have been effected at Ruhleben. Graf Schwerin, Baron Taube, and the other camp authorities have done everything in their power to bring about these improvements, and have been materially helped throughout by the camp captains.

The effect produced has been a general improvement in the physical and moral condition of the camp. In general the health of the prisoners can be said to be excellent, practically no cases of contagious or infectious diseases, barring a mild epidemic of German measles, having occurred. The improvement in the food and the increased possibilities of the purchase of additional nourishment from the outside, have nearly silenced all complaints.

The work is still constantly progressing, and it is fair to state that the conditions are steadily, if slowly, improving.

I am submitting to you, herewith, a plan of Ruhleben, upon which are marked the various buildings and locations mentioned in this report. I have further included a selection of programmes of the various entertainments, sports, etc., which have taken place in the camp.—I have, etc.,

G. W. Minot.

The following two extracts are also of some significance. The first is from the Times, the second is from the Daily Telegraph of June 18, 1915. The suspension of correspondence was due to some demonstration on the part of the prisoners.

Sir,—It may perhaps interest some of those who are feeling anxious about the treatment of their relatives at Ruhleben to hear that we have direct evidence of kindly action and consideration for the prisoners on the part of the German authorities at a date later than that at which the regular postal communication was suspended.—I am faithfully yours,

A Parent of a Prisoner.

February 17.

We received the following from the Press Bureau last night:

“A statement recently appeared in a letter to an organ of the Press to the effect that it was inadvisable to send parcels to civilian prisoners interned at Ruhleben in view of the heavy charges made on delivery.

“Information has now been received from the United States Ambassador at Berlin that no such charges have been made for the delivery of parcels at Ruhleben, but for a short time certain prisoners who had been temporarily released and sent to a sanatorium were charged duty on parcels sent to them there. This matter was, however, satisfactorily adjusted in a very short time, and duty is no longer charged on parcels to such prisoners.”

In the early autumn of 1915 civilian self-government was fully established at Ruhleben. Writing on October 16, Mr. Page remarks: “The administration of the camp to-day is entirely in the hands of the prisoners themselves. There are no guards in the barracks, and all internal arrangements, including discipline, are in the hands of the camp and barrack captains.” [Miscel. No. 3 (1916), p. 4.]

A Controversy.

White Paper Miscel. No. 3 (1916) is in many ways rather important to the student of internment. It affords some evidence of the kind of mental friction developing in all internment camps, and it makes clear that prisoners’ statements often need to be subjected to impartial outside investigation. There is not space, however, to enter fully into details here. The paper opens with a report on Ruhleben camp “compiled by a British subject recently released,” and forwarded by Sir Edward Grey to Mr. Gerard through Mr. Page. It is complained that the distance from the new barracks to the wash-houses is “in some cases over 200 yards.” Mr. Page points out by reference to a scale map that “in every case the wash-houses are nearer than 60 yards from the barracks, and not at a distance of 200 yards, as stated. The barracks which are not diagrammed on this map have their own washing appliances.” Mr. Page writes further: “The open space beneath the central tribune has not been, as stated in the report transmitted by the British Foreign Office, used for every conceivable purpose, but has been enclosed entirely for recreation purposes, religious services, lectures, debates, etc.... I cannot see how the introduction of [the] cinema show has in the least affected the comfort of the hall.” “With regard to whitewashing, this was done in all of the barracks at the expense of the camp fund, and not, as stated, at the cost of those interned at the barracks. Extra whitewashing, borders, etc., were naturally paid for at the private expense. No measures were taken for exterminating mosquitoes for the reason that it has been found impossible to procure petroleum in Germany for the purpose.” Three internees who tried to escape were in consequence imprisoned, and are stated in the report transmitted by the British Foreign Office to be starving. Mr. Gerard writes: “I visited Messrs. Ettlinger, Ellison and Kirkpatrick at the Stadtvogtei-Gefängnis about three weeks ago, and heard from them that they had no complaint to make about the food. They are now allowed to receive parcels and money from the outside, and are no longer in solitary confinement. The limitation of exercise to half an hour seems regrettable, but owing to their attempt to escape, I fear that it will be impossible to obtain a change until their sentence expires.”

The report forwarded to Mr. Gerard says:

It would be of material benefit to the interned if a representative of the United States Embassy could call at the Camp fortnightly, and receive complaints direct from prisoners, without the inevitable presence of the captains [i.e., the internees’ own captains] in the room.

Mr. Gerard replies:

A representative of this Embassy has visited the camp at Ruhleben (with the exception of the time when the camp was first formed) certainly on an average of more than once a fortnight, and it has been possible for any prisoners to speak to him without the presence of the captains. For the past few months the camp has been visited once a week if not more often. In addition to this Mr. Powell, sometimes accompanied by other captains of the camp, has visited this Embassy regularly once a week for consultation with me.

“I wish again to reiterate,” says Mr. Page, “that Count Schwerin, Baron Taube and the other officers in charge of the camp, are all kindly and considerate gentlemen, who do everything within their power to help the prisoners.”

But the real quarrel was not with Count Schwerin or Baron Taube (of whom all seem to speak well), but with the English captains and their management. The financial statements and the distributions effected by the captains are adversely criticised by the released British subject. He adds, somewhat acidly:

It would be a kindness to the captains and to the camp if the Government could convey to them a message informing them that they are public men holding important and responsible positions, and that public men must allow criticism and seek to profit by it.

Here we get to the root of the matter. The original “Camp Committee” was (to quote Mr. Gerard’s words) “disbanded by the order of the military authorities in February last (1915), because of its refusal to co-operate with the captains and its insistence upon publishing notices and minutes of its meetings after it had been forbidden to do so.”[23] This “Camp Committee” continued to object to the financial arrangement and the general administration of Mr. Powell and the other captains, and pressed their objections upon the Ambassador on August 23, 1915. “I thereupon suggested that perhaps the best way would be to refer the matter to a general election. To this the ‘Camp Committee’ demurred, and upon my asking what suggestion they had to proffer appeared to consider that they, a self-constituted body, should be given charge of the camp by me. This proposition I naturally rejected, especially as the members of this self-appointed committee were, although very estimable gentlemen, personæ non gratæ both to the majority of the prisoners and to the military authorities.... A final decision of the question as to whether the present government of Ruhleben is representative or not is to be found in the election of September 15, 1915, when every one of the captains at that time in authority was re-elected. The occasion was caused by the decision of the military authorities to withdraw the soldiers from the camp, and the captains therefore considered it desirable that they should appeal to the camp for decision as to whether it was wished that they should continue the government or not. I cannot see that any further proof is required as to whether the captains represent the feelings of the majority of the camp.”

One cannot help asking oneself, was the critic a member of the disbanded “Camp Committee”? The United States Ambassador on more than one occasion proved himself capable of speaking very decidedly to the German authorities of things he disapproved of. In this case, too, he speaks (though not to the German authorities) with some decision:

A properly heated and lighted recreation and assembling room is certainly extremely desirable for the damp and cold winter time. A new barrack has been sanctioned by the military authorities for the purpose, and I will do my best to press the work. I might venture to suggest that if so many private individuals had not occupied necessary space by election of private clubs the military authorities would be more willing to grant permission for the erection of further buildings intended for public good. Further, if the very men, such as the “camp committee” (who are all members of the “summer house” club), had devoted some of the energies which they expended upon the erection of the club for their own private use to the construction of a public sitting-room, the building might already be in use.

The British tax-payer is paying a large sum in wages because the Ruhleben prisoners are unwilling to do the fatigue work of the camp. The captured British soldiers who have been fighting in the trenches are compelled to do work in work camps, are often not properly clothed, do not receive an allowance from the British tax-payer of 5M. a week, cannot buy food at less than cost price, nor go to a sanatorium (at the expense of the British tax-payer) when sick; have not the benefit of expert dental and optical treatment, have no public libraries, lectures, schools, debates, or camp newspapers, have not seven tennis courts, three football fields, athletic games, cricket, golf and hockey, are not amused by dramas, comic operas and cinema shows, and above all are not paid extra wages for doing their own work to make themselves comfortable. All of these advantages and more which the Ruhleben prisoners enjoy have been largely the result of the effort of the camp administration which this commentator criticises.

These rather strong words of Mr. Gerard’s display a not unnatural irritation against a critic whose facts prove unreliable and whose mental attitude suggests a somewhat querulous bias, but it is only fair to remind ourselves that after long internment all suffer from nerve strain and many suffer very severely. Under these circumstances complete reasonableness is probably more than any of us would be capable of.

Short Rations.

At Ruhleben there are (with the exception of some negroes) English only. The English receive many packages. The German authorities have been tempted to rely on those packages increasingly. That is the state of things revealed in Dr. A. E. Taylor’s report of June 14, 1916. [Miscel. No. 21 (1916).]

A review of the present ration of the prisoners of war indicates that it is the aim of the ‘Kriegsernährungsamt’ to supply a ration which shall be physiologically adequate, though professedly containing little more than enough to cover minimal requirements; and it is believed that the official prisoners’ ration contains as much as the daily food of many millions of German subjects. There is no question that the official prison ration is an adequate ration from the standpoint of animal nutrition. In addition to this allotted camp ration the prisoners possess the food sent in from abroad as addenda.

In the case of the Russian prisoners, these extra food stuffs sent in from abroad are small in amount; in the case of the French, moderate; in the case of the English, large. In all the prison camps that I have visited it is the practice to prepare food for the number of men in the camp, irrespective of nationality, in accordance with the menu of Professor Backhaus. As a rule, the British prisoners take little or none of the food, and their share is eaten by prisoners of other nationalities. In Ruhleben the state of affairs at present existing has convinced the interned civilians that the situation is, so to speak, reversed: that the German authorities seem to regard the foodstuffs sent in from abroad as the regular diet of the interned men, and the camp allotments as the addenda.

It is not surprising that “the interned men are deeply dissatisfied with the present state of affairs.” The German authorities, finding that at least half the total number of the interned at Ruhleben subsist largely upon private packages, have made a “sharp reduction in the amount of foodstuff allotted to the camp.” I have no wish to defend this proceeding, but it must be allowed that to the Government of a blockaded country there is a great temptation to cut down supplies when this will not be a danger to the prisoners themselves.

Both reports of Dr. Taylor [Miscel. No. 18 (1916) and Miscel. No. 21 (1916)] are important studies of the question of nutrition, and his short discussion (No. 18, p. 4) of the psychological aspects of monotonous diet and the nutritional effects of internment is worth careful attention. “A diet that would be tolerated if the subject were at liberty may become intolerable under conditions of imprisonment. There is a large personal equation operative in this direction. The soldier imbued with a high sense of his value to his country and of the justice of his cause will endure a monotonous diet that would not be endurable in the prisoner overwhelmed with disappointment and crushed with sorrow.” These considerations are obviously of general application.

Some Comparisons.

Mr. Gerard, in a note of June 28, 1916 [Miscel. No. 25 (1916)], animadverts strongly on the bad accommodation still provided at Ruhleben. The letter is rather strikingly different in tone from his other reports on Ruhleben.

It is intolerable that people of education should be herded six together in a horse’s stall, and in some of the lofts the bunks touch one another. The light for reading is bad, and reading is a necessity if these poor prisoners are to be detained during another winter. In the haylofts above the stables the conditions are even worse.[24]

Bishop Bury’s account (“My Visit to Ruhleben,” p. 30) reads:

I don’t know whether it was our internment at Newbury,[25] the race-course for Reading, or our using race-courses, such as Kempton Park, for the training of our own men, which caused Ruhleben to be chosen in November, 1914, as a suitable place for civilians’ internment.... Without any description of mine it may be easily understood what they had to suffer until proper arrangements were made.... The loose boxes are now properly fitted with bunks, some being larger than others. The large corridor, with its stone floor, gives air and space, the lofts particularly being extremely well adapted now for their present purpose. I prefer the lofts to the boxes, because they have corridors out of which one can look, whereas the windows in the boxes are usually far above the ground. I went to tea more frequently in the boxes, and on one occasion we sat down sixteen in number—rather a crowd—but we were quite comfortable.

Bishop Bury has seen something on both sides, and his impressions are for that reason all the more important. We must not forget, too, that he lived a week with the prisoners at Ruhleben. It is also only fair to remember that no one has been invited to spend a week in any camp on this side. Bishop Bury also tells us “that when, a little time ago, the authorities proposed to relieve the overcrowding and construct another camp at Havilburg which could accommodate 600 men, the men at once petitioned that this idea might not be carried out, as they preferred, after this length of time to stay where they are.” (l.c., p. 40.)

One caution must, however, be given to the readers of Bishop Bury’s book. The conditions of the camp during the excitement and interest of his visit could not be the normal conditions. The frightful monotony of the long confinement does not obtrude itself in his book. Yet there is no doubt, I fear, that internment everywhere (at Ruhleben, as elsewhere) is becoming “intolerable.” To live, as at Alexandra Palace, day and night, for years in a great hall with more than a thousand others must become almost destructive to any sensitive nature. But (to quote Dr. Siegmund Schulze once more) “We ought not to conclude from this that we are justified in making reproaches.... in respect of the treatment of prisoners, but rather conclude that we should work energetically towards the termination of the war.”

Dr. Cimino, very, and very naturally, anti-German as he is, writes:

The only real suffering we experienced at Ruhleben was from the cold.... The fact is that he (Count Schwerin) was as kind-hearted an old soldier as ever fondled an English wife, and loved his English prisoners.... He used to take part in our daily life as much as possible.... As to the concerts, he was always present, et pour cause; he was passionately fond of music.... at the end of the concert he would make his little speech, and we filed out. But one night we gave him a rousing cheer, and the whole crowd struck up, “For he’s a jolly good fellow.” (“Behind the Prison Bars in Germany,” p. 95).[26]

As to the food question, we must not forget that the blockade against Germany and the pressure upon neutrals have been continually increased in stringency. Up to October, 1915, Mr. Gerard could write as follows of Ruhleben:

The food material is excellent and the cooking, as I have stated, is attended to by the prisoners themselves, those doing the cooking receiving payment from the British fund, with the exception of 150M. weekly allowed for cooks’ wages by the German authorities. The prisoners are given, if they choose, a bread-card, and are allowed to purchase extra bread—the Kriegsbrod, which we all use in Germany and which is quite palatable—at the price of 55 pfennige a loaf. Food also, as I have stated, can be purchased in the canteen at prices very much less than food can be purchased in Berlin, and at very much less than cost.—[Miscel, No. 3 (1916)].

The low price at the canteen, was, however, I take it, owing to the existence of the camp fund contributed to by the British Government.

Lord Newton spoke in the House of Lords on February 22, 1917, on the question of prisoners of war. The following extract is from the Daily Telegraph report:

There was nothing to be gained by exaggerating the conditions of prisoners in Germany or elsewhere. There was neither sense nor truth in representing, as was constantly done, that Ruhleben was a sort of unspeakable hell upon earth, and that a British internment camp was a kind of paradise compared with it. He deplored the hardship that these men underwent, but it was a great mistake to suppose that these civilians at Ruhleben were undergoing greater hardships than those being endured by our military prisoners. Like anyone who ventured to state the facts, he would no doubt be accused of being a pro-German, but certainly the conditions at Ruhleben had greatly improved recently. These conditions had improved, not on account of any action on the part of the German Government, but rather on account of their inaction. They had permitted the British there to organise on their own lines and make the conditions tolerable. Anyone could satisfy himself as to the conditions, because there were men who had arrived here recently who could give the fullest information. In addition, they were able to form their own opinions to a certain extent from independent testimony, for example, the visit of Bishop Bury. He could not understand why this prelate had been subjected to so much attack on the part of certain persons in this country. He went to Germany by permission of the German Government. He went to Ruhleben, lived in the camp, and was able to see what the conditions were. He reported exactly what he saw, and was thereupon denounced as not only being an inaccurate person but obviously pro-German.

Absence on Leave.

The following private testimony is also of interest: “A nephew of mine who is interned at Ruhleben has been let out for a fortnight’s visit to some people whose son is interned in England, and who has been befriended here. My nephew met with the most overwhelming kindness, and his letters are most interesting and touching.” The “reprisals of good,” which we shall consider more fully presently, are, after all, the most practical measures in the world. There have been several other absences on leave, and a good many men have been released permanently. Moreover, at Christmas, 1916, most of the British officials in the camp were given three days leave in Berlin.

Prisoners’ Activity.

We may well be proud of the organising capacity of the British prisoners at Ruhleben and of the resolute determination of so many to make the very most of every slender opportunity, and to turn difficulties into a stimulus for ingenuity. The following is from the Manchester Guardian, February 23, 1916:

A letter from Mr. Walter Butterworth, dated January 22, and written from his internment quarters at Ruhleben, Germany, has been received by the Chairman of the Manchester Art Gallery, Mr. F. Todd. After a reference to newly added pictures in the Manchester Gallery and to the death of his friend, Mr. Roger Oldham, Mr. Butterworth continues: “You will perhaps like to hear a little about art matters in Ruhleben. We really have some activity in arts and crafts. A great crowd of musicians are here, including some composers and many excellently equipped executants. We have actors in plenty, not without a sprinkling of professionals. Professors, journalists, and lecturers are our nearest approximation to workers in the literary field. There is no stint of craftsmen, who produce very clever work in wood, metals, etc. With provision tins they make the most astonishing things, including tackle for our physics and chemical departments, for weighing, testing, measuring, etc. With only tins and wire a man made an amazing electrical clock, which has kept faultless time for over a year. Other men made a handloom for demonstration purposes, which wove cloth before our eyes at a meeting of Yorkshiremen, at which I presided.

Turning to the fine arts of painting and sculpture, I did not know we had any sculptors until this month, except one clever young artist who models heads in clay. But this month we have had a great deal of snow, and two men who have hitherto been resting came forward, and, like Michael Angelo on a famous occasion began to model in snow. But our designers and painters are the most numerous and active (after the musicians). They have a shed, in which art exhibitions are held periodically. Many portraits are drawn and a few painted. One artist is just completing a portrait of me in pastels. There is an endless outpouring of theatre posters, caricatures, humorous drawings, skits on the camp, etc.”

Six students at Ruhleben passed the London University Matriculation examination in December, 1916. One of them took the Edinburgh papers as well later on. (Observer, August 26, 1917.) These are remarkable cases, for the strain of prolonged internment seems most of all to affect the power of concentrated attention.

The case of another successful student is recorded in the Daily News of June 2, 1918:

The distinction—probably unique—of graduating for the degree of Doctor of Music of Oxford University while a prisoner in enemy hands has been achieved by Mr. Ernest Macmillan, a young man with Edinburgh connections. Mr. Macmillan, who is the son of a clergyman in Toronto, was studying music in Germany when the war broke out, and since then he has been interned as a civil prisoner at Ruhleben. His answer to examination papers and his “exercise” (or composition) were sent from Ruhleben to Oxford.

That such things are possible at Ruhleben is a great tribute to English spirit and endurance. We must also not forget that they would clearly be wholly impossible if the Germans were actually barbarians.

A Friendly Enemy.

When Bishop Bury during his visit in November, 1915, asked what he might be allowed to say at Ruhleben, General Friedrich replied: “Please do all you can to hearten and cheer up your fellow countrymen. Appeal to their patriotism, speak to their manhood. You and they will have no one between you. There will be no official of the camp; no one to listen to you, no one to come between yourself and them. We trust you entirely with them, and you will understand, I am sure, that we do not wish to diminish anyone’s sense of nationality who is imprisoned or interned in Germany.” (“My Visit to Ruhleben,” p. 21.) The words, says Bishop Bury, “seemed to come straight from the heart of the speaker.” Some readers will be sceptical; but at least the words were acted on. The Bishop spoke about the armies and the war to the men, and told them of his own experiences in the war area, “just as I should have told them to my own countrymen in this country.” At his last address the British flag was run in on a cord and “God Save the King” was sung. The Bishop had no time to propose the omission of the second verse, but one is proud to know that those Englishmen, even amidst their excitement, spontaneously omitted it. The whole scene revealed what was finest on both sides. Bishop Bury told the German Staff that at the meeting “we all sang ‘Send him victorious.’ They smiled indulgently.”

War Terrorism.

A good many more things of a favourable character could be said. Unfortunately men who speak well of their German captors are accused of pro-Germanism, and they dare not speak. This is a rather terrible fact, but it is a fact. As one man said to me: “I have my living to get, and if my identity could be traced through any account I gave I should be ruined. My work has already been very materially affected, but in private conversation I shall continue to speak the truth, come what may.” War prejudice indeed desires one kind of story only, and victimises those who give it what it does not want. And so all along the line suppression begets suppression of the truths most needed to heal our ills. A woman teacher writes to me: “I think I have a fairly open mind myself to recognise good deeds of the enemy; but to tell such to my pupils is another matter, and I fear would be very impolitic seeing that I depend on my school for my daily bread.” And again the Editor of a provincial paper writes: “... but when one has to rely on the public for one’s living one has to think twice before expressing one’s views.”

Last Days at Ruhleben.

Mr. Desmond wrote of the coming of the Revolution at Dülmen (vide p. 61), Mr. Sylvester Leon has told us something of the last days at Ruhleben (Herald, January 4, 1919). “The soldiers are with you,” said Mr. Powell to the interned men. “For with the triumph of the Revolution, that friendliness which had existed in the days of the old régime between the interned and many an individual German soldier now became general among the military of Ruhleben; the officers had flitted, or had capitulated to the new order of things with more or less grace; Councils of soldiers and workmen ruled in the towns of the Fatherland; the era of Social Democracy was dawning upon Central Europe.... It is but fair to admit that the Ruhleben Guard acted very loyally in the performance of their duty. For when they were given the option of returning to their homes they did not avail themselves of that opportunity, but volunteered to remain at their posts until the disbandment of the camp. It is of historic interest to note that the red flag—the symbol of the triumph of the Revolution—which flew from the flag-pole in the camp, had formerly done service in the cubicle of one of the interned. It was dyed red by another of the interned, a doctor of science and a member of our little camp school, and then given to the soldiers.... The first impression gained on a visit outside the camp was the terrible seriousness of the food question. No one who has once seen can ever forget the sight of the crowds of hungry women and school children standing outside the gates of Ruhleben, literally besieging the interned as they passed out.” For it was only the interned who had food to spare. The Ruhlebenites gave, they had the facts before them. And “the people of Spandau turned out in force to wish us ‘Godspeed’ on our departure for home; and the send-off they gave us was astonishing in its enthusiasm, arresting in its spontaneity, and touching in its obvious sincerity.”

Havelberg.

At Havelberg the camp for civilians had a population of 4,500. Of these only 372 were British subjects, being men from British India. Mr. Dresel writes on September 17, 1916: “This camp produces an excellent impression, the arrangements being unusually hygienic and modern.” [Miscel. No. 7 (1917), p. 6.]

On Behalf of the Civilians.

Yet, however excellent the impression may be, an internment camp is a miserable place.[27] It is, of course, especially miserable for those whose nature is at all sensitive, and it is surely such men whom we shall need everywhere if we are to make a less brutal world. Man after man has gone into internment seeking to employ himself and to make the best of it. For months, for a year, less often for nearly two years he has succeeded. But slowly success has dwindled and turned into failure. The monotony, the sense of oppression, the physical and mental discomfort, the deadly uselessness of the life—even where to these things is not added concern for those outside—have made him incapable of fixed attention, incapable of effort, incapable of rest, alternately nervous and torpid, fearful, despairing. The “barbed wire disease” has him in its grip at last. “Another winter interned here,” wrote such a one, “and I shall need a padded cell.” He had a fine nature and had struggled hard. But “the people outside do not understand.” Certainly, there are those who can hold out to the end. I admire and envy them. I do not think any of us could predict with certainty that we should not give way.

There is only one remedy short of stopping the war, and that is the release of all civilians. Those who wish to remain, either in Germany or here, should certainly be allowed to do so, and if the police have no case against them, and if they can support themselves, they should be set free. Others should be repatriated or sent to neutral countries. The imprisonment of civilians is against the usage of war, and it is this fact which gave force to the claim of the German Government that there should be complete release on both sides.

I append extracts from a Swiss appeal to the belligerents on behalf of the civilian prisoners. It was issued in August, 1917, and has already appeared in Common Sense.

A civilian is not a prisoner of war.

We gladly acknowledge that the belligerent powers have effectively lessened the sufferings of the prisoners of war with an intelligent understanding of their duty; the military authorities have listened favourably to the proposals of the Red Cross, and already the soldiers have been spared many unnecessary sufferings. Humane measures have softened the captivity of military prisoners.

In the name of Justice we now address this urgent appeal to the authorities in the belligerent countries to adopt the same attitude towards civilian prisoners.

We have in mind all civil prisoners, for these, almost without exception, are innocent victims of the war; both those who since the beginning of the war have been interned, and those others in the occupied territories who have been isolated, oppressed or imprisoned, many of them in poor health, women, children, old men, who are not allowed to join their families in a neutral land. Our deep compassion and brotherly sympathy are especially moved on behalf of non-combatants who have been carried away like herds.

We pray all belligerents without distinction to hearken to our appeal; with dread we watch the approach of another war-winter, bearing, as it must, a fresh succession of distresses, deprivations and reprisals. Therefore we cannot keep silence.... Numbers of civilian prisoners have been suffering since the beginning of the war from the depressing conditions of the concentration camps.... The civilian took no part in the war, and in most cases did not even desire it. He should not therefore be treated as a prisoner of war.

Belligerent States! We call upon you to exchange all your civilians now interned.... This exchange must naturally be effected under certain conditions to be established. Each State must bind itself not to employ the liberated civilians for war-work; just as was arranged in the case of military prisoners who have been repatriated or sent to neutral countries. With these conditions, no belligerent should refuse to liberate the civilians so unjustly imprisoned.

Honour will be theirs who act upon this appeal....

The signatories to this appeal are G. Wagnière (Editor of the Journal de Genève), Dr. A. Forel (Professor at Zurich University), Ed. Secrétan (National Councillor), Benjamin Vallotton, Charles Baudouin (Professor at the Institut J. J. Rousseau), Ch. Bernard, P. Seidel (Professor at the Cantonal Technical College, Zürich), A. de Morsier, Ph. Dunant (Lawyer of Geneva), Paul Moriand (Professor of Medicine at Geneva), and MM. Blonde and Arcos.

The Swiss Red Cross has also appealed for the release of all interned civilians.

From this side the following private appeal on behalf of all prisoners has been addressed to the Red Cross at Cologne:

I feel it incumbent upon me ... to draw your attention to the acute disappointment that is being caused among the prisoners in all the camps, and almost equally among their friends outside, by the delay in repatriation. Every phase in the long series of public discussions and official negotiations, every hitch, and every hesitation, has been followed with painful anxiety by those of us who know what it means for all these thousands of victims languishing in confinement, and you may be sure, with much more intensely painful anxiety by the victims themselves, whose ears are pathetically strained to catch the feeblest echo of any rumour from the outside world that brings them the slightest hint of release. For months these poor fellows had been continually alternating between hope and despair, when the news of the Hague meeting seemed for large numbers to bring them definitely, at long last, within measurable distance of the reality. Knowing therefore as you do, equally well with us, the mental condition of these men, and the terribly demoralising effect of long internment, even under the best conditions, you will realise the deep depression into which they are now being plunged by all the inexplicable delays in carrying out the terms of the convention. From every one who comes in contact with them I gather the same impression, that unless the Gordian knot is cut and a way is quickly found out of the present impasse, the most serious results are to be apprehended, as numbers of prisoners here—and the case can be no better in other countries—are on the verge of insanity....[28]

I would put it therefore to you in all earnestness that it is your duty, as representing humanity, to bring without delay all the pressure and all the influence you possess to bear upon the authorities to consider the sufferings of the prisoners and induce them, if possible, even at the cost of some concessions, to facilitate from their side the carrying through of this scheme, in which I can assure you not merely the happiness but even the life of many men is involved.

I speak, of course, quite unofficially, and with no other motive than pure philanthropy, but I may venture to hope that my representations, though only those of a private individual, will carry more than ordinary weight, inasmuch as there is perhaps nobody whose information and experience in these matters are more real and vital, or entitle him to speak with more authority.

Nor do I stand alone, for there are many others with whom I have worked from the beginning in the same field. All these associate themselves with me in this appeal, and, like myself, with no other motive than that of simple humanity. If the time, the energy, and the money we have all spent so unstintingly to improve the prisoners’ lot give us any title to be heard, we all implore you, not only for the sake of the prisoners themselves, but in the eternal interests of humanity and justice, to do, and to do quickly whatever you can in furtherance of this object. We quite understand, of course, that military interests must be considered, but it is not always possible for those in high places, with whom such decisions rest, to realise as vividly as we do all that is at stake in a question of this sort, and that is why we feel entitled to assume that your advice would not be without effect, and that being the case, we submit it becomes your solemn duty to tender it.

The sufferings of this war are indeed vast beyond all comprehension. Is not there danger that this very fact may lead us to add to that suffering without need?

“Rotting Away.”

In a pathetic appeal to be given work the men at one internment camp here said, “We are simply rotting away.” And others say, “The people outside do not understand.” Loss, heartache, privation, stagnation, friction, stupid and malicious gossip, mental and moral deterioration—“rotting away.” This disintegration of personality, the gradual rotting of the man’s selfhood, is perhaps, clearly envisaged, as great a horror as war can bring. It is not the result of deliberate cruelty, but simply of conditions most of which are inevitable if there is to be internment at all.

A Report on Knockaloe.

The reports available on our own internment camps do not go back beyond March, 1916.[29] It is perhaps well to remind ourselves that even by May, 1916, there were still defects. Thus in the American Report of May 18, 1916, on Knockaloe, we read: “The huts are being put in good weather-proof condition, and are being protected against the wind and rain by felt and tarred paper.”[30] As to sanitation, “There have been improvements in the sanitary arrangements since our last visit.” “In the hospital in Camp IV. there is now being built a recreation room, where convalescents may sit, which will give more room for the patients; also a special sink has been provided for washing the hospital utensils, and new latrines have been installed. They seem to be at work at this hospital to improve its condition. As Camp IV. has the largest number of older men interned, this hospital has more patients than others, and seemed rather crowded at the time of our visit.” “In the isolation hospital we found only one bath and one tap for all the patients who are suffering from various sorts of contagious diseases. We took this matter up with the proper authorities, who assured us that it should have their attention. The sanitary arrangements in all the hospitals might be improved, except possibly in Camp I.” “There were complaints about the hospital treatment, particularly of the care of the eyes, ears and teeth, for which the interned men claimed that there was not sufficient opportunity for special treatment.”

These last complaints are curiously parallel to some made at Ruhleben. [See Miscel. No. 3 (1916) pp. 3, 15, 16.]

“There was complaint that there were no shelters for the men while waiting to receive parcels, nor for outside patients visiting the doctor. This matter was taken up.”

“In Camp III. a complaint was made about the difficulty of personal intercourse between the representatives of the camp and the Commandant. This had caused dissatisfaction. The men seemed to have confidence in the new Commandant, but they told us that they had difficulty in approaching him. We took this matter up with the proper authorities, and were informed that they would in future have more opportunity for personal intercourse.”

The huts for sleeping accommodation “are sectional, being of the regular War Office pattern, 30 feet by 15 feet, each section holding thirty men.” This gives us a floor space of 450 square feet for each thirty men. In that portion of the Ruhleben loft most adversely criticised by Mr. Gerard the roof slopes from 10 feet at the ridge to a height of 4½ feet only at the sides. The floor space allowed, however, is 10.2 metres by 12.8 metres, giving us about 1,390 square feet for 64 men, or 651 square feet for thirty men. When all allowance is made for the lowness of the sides in the rather wide loft (it seems to be more than 30 feet wide), this worst accommodation at Ruhleben seems, as regards space available, not inferior to that at Knockaloe. Further details would be needed for a complete comparison.

The report on Knockaloe is not enthusiastic, but evidently there had been many improvements, and still more was hoped for from the new Commandant. “The new Commandant, who has only been there some ten weeks, seems to have gained the confidence and respect of the interned men. He seems to be doing all in his power to better the conditions of the camp. He finds difficulty in getting material, such as tarred paper or felt, etc., for use on the huts. He told us that he had the matter in hand, and was giving betterment of the conditions at the camp every attention.... The whole tone of the camp is much better than it was at the time of the last visit. (See report of January 8, 1916.) There were fewer complaints, and the prisoners seemed much more contented.”

A British Commandant.

It is unfortunate that we cannot “see” the earlier report to which we are directed. But it is good to know that the new Commandant, Col. F. N. Panzera, proved to be a Christian gentleman with real sympathy for the unfortunate men under his charge. Like many other commandants, both here and in Germany, he did, amidst the various difficulties, what he could. As he is, alas, now dead, we may perhaps quote the words he addressed to the men in his care at the Christmas of 1916. It is a strange reflection that it might have injured his position to quote this fine and simple message during his life-time. Colonel Panzera wrote:

I am sorry that the size of the camp prevents my seeing you all, which I should do if it were smaller and thus possible. It would be a mockery to wish you a “Happy Christmas,” I am afraid, but I wish you as happy a one as is possible under the circumstances. I most earnestly wish you a happier New Year. May the New Year bring Peace and restore you to all dear to you. I hope that prosperity and happiness may come to you in the future, and may in time obliterate the memory of the present period of sadness.

I should like to take the opportunity of saying how much I appreciate the general good behaviour of the camps during the past year. There have been little lapses, as there must always be in a mixed community of 25,000 people, but on the whole the conduct has been extremely good, which has been a great help to those placed over you. Once more I wish you as good a Christmas as possible and a better New Year.

Food Difficulties.

The food question also becomes increasingly serious in the camps, as it does in prisons. I confess I feel we ought to ration ourselves very strictly before we cut down the supplies of our prisoners, criminal or otherwise. “The reduced diet,” wrote Fenner Brockway of his prison experiences, “is one of semi-starvation, and every prisoner is becoming thin and physically weak.” (Labour Leader, September 6. 1917.) Those who care to inquire of the wives of interned men will learn their side of the case as regards the effect of changed conditions in the camps. The sad feature is that the increasing rigour comes upon men already weakened, both physically and mentally, by long confinement. The original published statement of Sir Edward (now Viscount) Grey [Misc. 7 (1915), p. 23] no longer obtains. The food is, of course, very different, and may not be supplemented.

Two Kinds of Rumour and Some Reality.

I have not cared to quote adverse “unofficial information and rumours,” either as regards our own or other detention camps. What some adverse critics say about our own may be read in the Woman’s Dreadnought, Vol III., p. 551. The rather terrible appeal of the Captains at Knockaloe is also printed on p. 561. It is a letter which is unwise and hysterical. I do not wonder at its hysteria, and I confess that some things in the letter hit me rather hard. But, alas, the desperation of the interned men on either side does not help towards wise judgment, and for that desperation we are all, in every country, in some measure responsible. It is best to remember instead the real sympathy that those actually in touch with prisoners do often feel. Colonel Panzera’s message is clear evidence of this, and from a private letter I take the following:

The attitude of prejudice or even hatred towards enemies, whether prisoners or not, often disappears when men are brought face to face in the work of an internment camp, for example, and find that they are very much like each other. An officer of a certain camp here was taken prisoner and interned for six months in Germany before he escaped. He says that two or three times the officers of the camp were changed, and in each case began with harsh treatment, either the result of official suggestion or of the general feeling. In each case, after the lapse of a short time, close acquaintance modified this attitude, and finally kindly relations and treatment resulted. In the same way the nurses in a certain hospital here refused to receive or treat German prisoners until a company of the wounded men arrived, when the feeling of natural humanity proved too strong, and they were quite eager to attend to them. At the internment camps in this country the officers generally speak of the men under their charge with humanity and respect.

The following is significant. “In the town near a certain internment camp of ours much indignation was roused by the story that some of the interned aliens had set in motion some railway trucks on a sloping siding, with the intention of allowing them to crash into an arriving passenger train at the bottom. An English friend of mine happened to observe the real origin of the story. The trucks began to move in an accidental way, and two or three of the aliens nearly lost their own lives, certainly risked serious accident, in endeavouring to stop the trucks when they were already moving.”

Thus in the quiet neighbourhood of an internment camp a brave deed becomes by popular passion transformed into something monstrous. What would this popular imagination do in an invaded district? Its vagaries must be experienced and studied by any investigator of the atrocities of war.

Another example of heroism amongst German prisoners I take from the Daily News of April 30, 1918. A small boat in which two men were sailing capsized about 200 yards out from the Leasowe Embankment, Cheshire. The men, clinging to the bottom of the boat, were being driven out by the tide when two members of an escort of German prisoners, Sergeant Phillips and Private Matthews, jumped into the water and with difficulty brought one man back. One of the German prisoners, named Bunte, volunteered to go to the rescue of the other man, who was by then in great danger. The German swam out strongly and brought the man back.

Against Bitterness.

I fear that on both sides it is embittered men who will be released from the civilian internment camps. People do not realise how financial ruin, harassment, illness and death (to which the harassment may have contributed) follow in the track of internment. A man is interned, his wife and family are reduced to a mere pittance, the woman is, it may be, delicate. She falls ill and dies.[31] And amid such incidents and the mental strain of the confinement a brooding hatred gradually settles down upon the souls of these sufferers. Personally, I do not feel one can expect much favourable memory of the authorities on either side. Certainly every one who has worked for prisoners is touched by their gratitude, but the iron has entered into their souls for all that. And perhaps it is well to remind ourselves that a far larger number of civilians have been suffering in the internment camps on this side. Let us not add to their bitterness by unworthy abuse or credulous malice. Men who, after long confinement for no offence of their own, have tried to save enemy lives, and find their efforts described as an attempt at murder, must begin to feel hopeless of justice. Excess of generosity would be far wiser. The world wants no more missioners of hate. Let us try to avoiding creating such.

In our own internment camps there was often, even early in the war, an atmosphere of depression which one worker said “haunted him for days.” The following extract is from the letter of an interned man who showed quite remarkable courage and fought with considerable success against depression till the end of 1917. “I refuse to give way to depression,” he wrote. But in 1918 the strain of useless monotony had become too great, he became physically ill, and how low hope had fallen the letter itself shows: “You can’t think how good it is to hear you speak with so much sympathy. I feel sure you understand the dreariness of this life, the long and fruitless waiting, the nights of anguish—and all the misery of it, the terrible discontent and the passionate heart longings.... You don’t know how sore it is sometimes about my heart....”

Methods that seem to many of us avoidable contribute also to increase ill-feeling. I take the following from the Daily News of September, 27, 1918:

Among others, I had my Christmas dinner last year with a German. At least, his name is German and he was born in Germany. He is less interested, personally, in those facts than in these, viz., that he is an international Socialist and a first class electrical engineer. For four years he has done extremely responsible work for a large engineering firm with important contracts from the M. of M. For four years he has had his liberty within the usual five-mile radius; for four years the local police have not found the least fault with him.

Now, thanks to the Northcliffe Intern-them-all-Stunt, he is shut up in the Isle of Man, and the country has lost the services of a man who was worth more to us than many Northcliffes.

From a letter which he wrote recently to an English friend I have copied the following:

As a result of the fact that no German paper is permitted here in the camp, not even those advocating understanding nor those critical of the German Government, and practically no English paper hitherto except those abounding in Hun-talk, there is still a general feeling here towards “England” exactly the opposite of what these restrictions are intended to create—a bitterness and a contempt which exist side by side with the most violent criticism of the governing clique of Germany, and with anti-capitalistic, revolutionary sentiment! So I am exerting myself to make people realise that, however influential, the Northcliffe and Allied Press is not “England,” and that the best German papers constantly work for the abatement of hatred and for genuine reconciliation and co-operation in a League of Nations.