The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-10-19
Prison Memories of Communist

Gust as "a like, they answered
but with those ribbons there will be
no exercise" We did not give way
but awaited the stroke of IL. When
the last stroke had died down the
whole prison resounded with the bat
tie hymn of the proletariat. There
were over hundred. prisoners in the
building. After we had sung the
"Internationale" we followed it up
with other revolutionary songs
Mounted and foot police surrounded
the prison. We were punished for
our demonstration by losing the
right to have visits, newspapers,
books and packets.
Worms in Soup.
Apart from this special order, our
situation in general was worsened.
The soup for instance, was always
full of half drowned and swollen
worms. We tried to eat the food
without looking at it, closing our
eyes and thinking about something
else. The result was terrible vomit-
ing. If it had not been for the as
sistance given to us by the Interna-
tional Red Aid we would probably
have starved from inability to eat
the flood" offered to us.
Those comrades who have been in
prison in Poland will certainly never
forget with what anxiety and hope
they waited for the day which
brought the packets of the IRA.
From early morning we waited in
fear and trembling until the packets
were finally in our hands.
In winter the cells of our prison
were heated once every four days.
On account of the damp the walls
of the cells were green with mildew.
We protested on a number of oc-
casions to the director of prisons but
received the laconic answer that we
were in hard labor prison and that
could not be paradise. Nothing
remained for US but to declare war.
The Internationaie.
We came to the following de-
cisions: At the first opportunity to
throw everything in the cell out on
to the corridor and to sing the en-
ternationale" three times day, in
the morning, at midday and in the
evening for three days in success
sion. This we did and on the ami
versary of Lenin's death we declared
a general hunger strike which lasted
five days. The hunger strike ended
with victory for us and the prison
administration gave way. Up to the
month of March the conditions were
tolerable, but then the prison direc-
tor, Minnitzki, laid his hands on the
political rights which we had so
hardly won.
Minnitzki had a harder job with
US than he had reckoned on. He
used various methods to force us
back into our former position, some
of these methods were extremely
cruel and brutal, but to all his de-
mands we answered that we would
sooner die in prison as so many had
done before us than give up the
rights we had won or permit him to
break our courage. We suffered
much and were very much weakened
physically, but the more our physi-
cal strength ebbed, the brighter
burned the flame of our revolution
airy spirit, and the stronger and
more passionate grew our hatred.
The political prisoners decided to
celebrate the 7th of November, 1927
with particular thoroughness. The
prison administration also prepared
itself. for the day. On the 7th of
November, Minnitzki caused the
czarist warders to be assembled in
the prison yard and distributed in
toxicants to them. When the EN-
ternationale" sounded from the
prison cells the drunken band of
warders burst into the cells and
beat up the helpless comrades ter
ribly. The comrades were beaten
half-dead, cold water was poured
over them and then they were put
in the punishment cells. Everything
was removed from the punishment
cells so that the injured comrades
had nothing to lie down upon other