Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1918-12-18
CHAPTER Xxx.
kuItur-the Real Stuff

1suSSAduS were gwen 1ar worse treat
ment than any other prisoners. This
was for two reasons, as near as could
make out. One was that the Russian
would stand most anything, whereas
the British and French could only be
-Roafcd to a certain point, and beyond
clay trouble. The other reason
; >xGthat the Russians sent &erman
prisoners to Siberia, or at least, so the
Huns thought, and Fritz hates the
cold. So, hating the Russians, and
realizing that they we're used to be-
Ing under-dogs, Fritz picked on them
and bullied them in a way that the
rest Of US would not have stood. We
would have rushed them and gone
west with bayOnets first.
The barracks were made Of spruce,
and were about ninety feet long and
twenty-five feet wide, and you can
take 1t from me that as carpenters,
whoever made them were fine farm
ers. There were cracks In them that
you could drive an automobile through.
When we were there, each barracks
had stove in the center, a good stove
and big one, but at first it was of
no use to US, because the Germans
would not give US coal or wood for it.
But after shivering for a while, we be-
gan ripping the boards out Of the bar
racks, and taking the dividing boards
from the benches that we used for
D16s.
Later, they gave each of US a mat
tress filled with wood shavings, and q
blanket that was about as warm as
pane of glass. The mattresses were
placed on the ground in the barracks,
which were very damp, and after three
or four days, the shavings would be-
gin to rot and the mattresses to smell.
In order to keep warm we slept as
close together as we could, which
caused our various diseases to spread
rapidly.
When we were receiving our rations,
the sentries would offer US an extra
ration If we would take a lash from
their belts. We were so hungry that
many and many man would go up
and take swat In any part of his
body from the heavy leather belts
with brass tongue and buckle, just to
get little more shadow" soup or
barley coffee or mud bread.
One morning the sentries picked out
s ten men from our barracks, Of which
I was one, and drilled US over q field
near the kuche. There was a large
fon IN fn1 ho1 10
water into it. It was very cold, ond
we were weak and sick, so we would
p1all one after another. not caring
whether we ever got up or not. Fritz
would smash those who fell with his
rifle butt. We asked for gloves, be-
we got was "Nichts.''
= Aftc9 we had been there for about
an hour and half, one Of our men
became very sick, so that thought
he was going to die, and when he fell
over, reported it to sentry. The
sentry came over, saw him lying In
the snow, yelled, "Schwein, NIGHT
krankl" grabbed him by the shoulder,
and pulled him all the way across the
field to the office Of the camp COM
mander. Then he was placed in the
guard house, where he remained for
two days. The next thing we knew,
the Russians had been ordered to
make a box, and were being marched
to the guard house to put him in it
and bury him.
Another thing at Neustreiitz, that
was pretty hard to stand, was the pref
ty habit the Huns had Of coming up
to the barbed wire and teasing US as
though we were wild animals in a
cage. Sometimes there would be
crowds of people lined along the wire
throwing things at US, and splitting,
and having great time generally. It
was harder than ever when family
party would arrive, with water and
@utter, and maybe grosvater and
grosmutter, and all the little Boche
kinder, because, as you probably
know, the Germans take food with
them whenever they 60 on party,
no matter what kind, and they would
stand there and stare at US like the
boobs they were, eating all the time
and we so hungry that we could
have eaten ourselves, almost. After
they had stared while, they would
begin to feel more at home, and then
would start the throwing and splitting
and the "schweinhund" sangerfest, and
they would have great time general
~. Probably, when they got home
they would strike off a medal for
themselves in honor Of the visit.
Then, too, there were always Hun
soldiers on leave or off duty, who made
It q point to pay US a visit, and though
do not think they were as bad as the
civvies, especially the women. they
were bad enough.
We had one bucket in each barracks,
and as these buckets were used for
both washing and drinking, they were
always dirty. We boiled the water
when we washed the clothes, to get
rid Of the coolies, and that left a
settling in it that looked just like red
lead. We had to get the water from
hydrant outside OF the barracks, and
for a while we drank it. But after
several Of the boys had gone west
and we could not figure out why, a
man told US he thought the water was
poisoned, and Russian doctor, who
was prisoner, slipped us word about
It also. So. after that. very few Of