Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-03-24
Sent to All Chiefs.

publication with the approval anu tiie
oficial O. X. of the Belgian legation
here:
Sent to All Chiefs.
"In August, 1916. instructions were
sent to all the chiefs of detachmenls. oa
.kommando' heads, connected Win .ne
Munstorlager prison camp. Ihese W.
signed by Feldwebel-Lieut BauSmahii'
acfiny for Lieut. Col. Won Baumback'
head of the prisoners camp al Iauh
ster, and declared that in many OF 'ne
'kommandos' the prisoners did not uo
enough work. and by some means OF
other the amount must be increased.
AGAINST those who did not work
enough proceedings should be taken as
follows: .,,,,.
showing it to them, but not iettihs
sIf this should not succeed, holding
back their parcels from home yet ie'-
ting them see the parcels:
"By employing force. using the butts
of rifles though without wounding the
prisoners and making them lncapan4e
of working. 1901.
if forcible treatment, and beating them
with rifle butts do not succeed, 1hen
by shooting.
"The consequences of such orders.
given to soldiers naturally brutal. and
to non-commissioned officers specially
chosen for this job was bound TO ne
fresh outburst of savage treatment
Things grew worse. The author of the
trouble had no doubt foreseen II. put ~
was necessary above all to get more
work from the prisoners And this re-
suit was obtained.
In the salt mines, where a prisoner
had been formerly compelled to NIL
ten cars, he now had to fill fifteen, and
again, after a little while, in conse-
Quence perhaps of new orders, twenty,
and later Twenty-Five If the Germans
20 n
twenty-five. The same thing took
place, and in the same manner. in har-
bors, and railway stations where ships
and trains were 10 be unloaded
Duties of Prisoners.
"At the beginning of March. 1917,
yet more urgent instructions from Ber-
lin reached the camps Without dis
tinction of age. ranks or aptitude, the
prisoners who were still in the camps
and occupied in various services. cler-
ical. postal. express, taking care of the
yards, barracks and kitchens, all pri-
vate soldiers, indeed, were to be sent
to kommandos' and their places were
to be taken by non-commissioned Of
ficers Only the invalids could remain
in the camps with these. Even the
sick we're to work, according to their
strength, and not be admitted into
hospitals and infirmaries unless they
were really quite incapable of work
to work the next day.
The prisoners are marked with a
number, indicating the degree of health
and strength No. 1 means good for
any work; No. .. good for field labor;
No. 8, good for light work; No 4, in
capable of work. The men who were
marked No. 3 a, Munsteriager reached
Soltau at the beginning of April, 1917.
and then, on the next day. they were
sent to Emden, where they are en-
pIoyed in unloading vessels: Those
marked No. 3 at Soltau, wing had been
sent in February to the camp at
Hameln, were shipped about the same
time to farms. and even to mines and
swamps. These men were those suHer-
ing from tuberculosis. heart diseases,
bronchitis. asthma. hernia, rheumatism
and sciatica-
According to statistical report
published in Germany, 80 per cent of
the prisoners are now detached from
the camps to which they belong and
are working in 'kommandoS- Three
fourths of these 90 per cent are as
signed to agricultural tasks, to labor
at seaports. to salt and coal mines, 70
the draining of marshes and to work
in factories and foundries-
THE prisoners who work on farms.
E in camps, mines and factories are fed
on turnips, nettles, barley Cruel and
Indian corn meal. almost exclusively.
Practically all potatoes have been
requisitioned- The orders are that the
hours of labor shall be determined
by the farmers In summer the pris-
oners work fourteen, fifteen and even
sixteen hours a day. If prisoner
protests the peasant appeals to the
sentry, who runs up with his rife and
soon imposes the will of the master.
Work in Mines.
An increasing number of prisoners
are being put to work in salt mines
E (Kaiiwerk). The salt is used today
especially for the manufacture of suf-
locating gases
The galleries are at depths which
vary from 200 to 700 meters (about $50
to 2. 800 feet The heat is so great that
the men work absolutely naked, except
for wooden shoes. The sweat drips
from their bodies. The air is not fit to
breathe, being full of poisonous
vapors which bring an Irresistible
drowsiness. At the end of a few
months the Iaborers break out with
persistent boils and incurable running
sores, the slightest scratch often de-
yeloping into a deepening wound
which grows larger and larger
Sat the mine called kaliwerk Prince
Adalbert. at Oldau, in the district OF
wfnsen, province of Hanover the pris-
oners employed at last accounts num-
bered 400, of whom 800 were Russians
eleven French, eleven Englishmen and
the rest Belgians. OF the Belgians. six
teen were soldiers and the others
civilians. Inc leVeI Is oUU meters tdDOut
1000 feet) underground and the work
lasts eight hours a day At first each
man had to produce ten carloads
a day, but gradually the Germans re-
auired more-twelve, fifteen and then
twenty carloads. At present every pair
of men must load forty-four cars a
day
whenever, at the end of eight hours
these forty-four carloads have not
been furnished. the delinquent crews
are kept below for one, two or three
extra hours. When they come to the
surface the prisoners are further oblig-
ed to perform supplementary labors
particularly to unload coal. three OIL
four times week, according to need
The chief of the detachment is Ger
man on-commissioned officer whom
the prisoners have nicknamed the
Crocodile He Is a giant, hideously de-
formed, but of enormous strength. Not
day passes but that he strikes the
prisoners. To do this he takes his
victim into his own room, shuts and
locks the door. places his watch on the
TABLETOP the time Of the torture. five
ten. fifteen minutes. is fixed before
hand-and then he falls with his fists
his booted feet and even sometimes a
sbayonet When his victim has tainted