The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-02-12
PRISONERS
TREATED BRUTALY
BRITISH SOLDIERS FROM GERMAN
PRISON CAMPS TELL OF RE.
VOTING SCENES.

London, Feb. lO.-(Saturday).-Reu.
ters, Ltd, has received copies of sworn
statements from British soldiers who
have returned from German prison
camps and hospitals regarding system
attic brutality practiced by the Germans
upon Italian prisoners. These reports
emanate not from one particular center.
but come from more than q dozen diff.
ferent parts Of Germany. They have
been confirmed by independent testi.
mony The reports are of recent origin,
as the soldiers who gave the testimony
left Germany only recently, a majority
Of them having been released from pris
on camps about a month ago.
Regarding the camp at Langensalza,
Saxony, testimony has been received
from more than a dozen Independent
sources, In November about 1000 Ital
ian prisoners ware brought in and placed
in a separate part of the camp behind
barbed wires. According to the reports
they were unnecessarily knocked about
by underofhcers and guards with rifle
butts and scabbards.
Italians Almost Famished.
The Italians appeared famished and
used to rush for their soup The Ger
mans, however, stabbed them with
swords and bayonets killing or wound
ing many of them. Seven or eight Ital
ians died from starvation in the camp
every day. One Italian testified that
he had been fifteen days on the journey
to the camp and had had only three
meals during all that time
There is a strong feeling among the
English prisoners that something should
be done for the Italians, who are dying
at the rate Of six or seven a day through
starvation or dysentery.
From the Dulmen (Westphalia) camp
there are reports from many independ
ent witnesses concerning the way the
Italian prisoners are mistreated. 1t is
stated that the prisoners were marched
all the way from Italy with no food
but bread. They also were knocked
about and starved and otherwise treated
with inhumanity. English prisoners
gave them their German rations.
One witness said that three or four
weeks before he left Dulmen two OF
three hundred Italian prisoners arrived
there. All of them were virtually
starved
81 saw a German sentry draw his
bayonet against theSe men and beat
them" said his witness.
In Cassel it is reported that the Ital
ians are treated worse than the British
being pushed about or struck by Ger
man corporals. At Mannheim the same
brutality is regularly practiced. One
witness said the Italians rushed madly
for the food and some of them were
bayoneted The Germans, this report
said, were giving them only half ra
tions.
Brutal Treatment at Munster.
At Munster, it was testified the be
havior Of the Germans to the Italians
had become much worse since the re
cent large capture Of Italians. The
prisoners suffered very much from colo
and were wrapping themselves in blan
kets whenever they could.
The brutal conduct and bullying OF
Germans set in only recently One wit
ness said he saw the Italians knocked
down frequently and hit with the butt
end OF rifles. This treatment was not
due particularly to the bad conduct OF
the prisoners, but simply because they
were Italians. These men have one
ration Of soup and bread daily.
Similar evidence comes from Zerbst
Anhalt, where Italian prisoners after
five days journey without food were
driven back with swords as they were
going to get their soup allowance. An
other witness testified that at the Hem
elm camp the Italians were nearly
starved and fought among themselves
for piece of bread thrown to them by
British prisoners.
At Friedrichsfelde, province Of Bran
denburg, the treatment of the Italians
was equally barbarous. Here sentries
shot lhlians for trying to get food
from the British prisoners. Equally
revolving stories come from Hammel
burgh, Stendal, Soltau, Limburg and
Hamburg.