The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-12-14
Six Weeks in Columbia House, German
Torture Camp for Political Prisoners
Sexual Outrages Prac-
ticed on Jewish
Prisoners

am an assassin, Inns was Eener-
ally followed by kicks and blows.
It is hardly possible to understand
how this weak body was able to re-
tain life after half a year of this
suffering.
The acme Of these beatings was
the so-called cellar thrashing. These
were atrocious tortures Of certain
prisoners, whereby the SIS. men
we're gathered together by loud
shouts of Come down for the cell
lar thrashing." This ill-treatment
was divided up, according to wind
power from l to s." If it was a
case of cellar thrashing No. 81, this
meant that the victims had to go
afterwards to the doctor. Wind
power 4 and 5" meant that the
victim had to be brought out of the
cellar on stretcher
Among the most brutal outrages
which was committed in Columbia
House, was that of injecting cam
phor and hydrochloric acid into the
sexual organs of a number of pris-
oners. With terrible internal in
juries and inflammations, with torn
intestines, these unfortunates we're
taken from Columbia House, some
to the police prison in Alexander
platz and some to the State Hos
pital, These cases, the victims of
which had been seen by several of
my fellow prisoners, occurred some
time before I was brought to Col
umbia House.
I myself left Columbia House
with only stiff knee. Not until
two or three months later was I
able to bend my knee again. Com
pared to the former Entertainment
which I had endured in the Bran
denburg concentration camp, Col
umbia House was, for my personal
conditions, considerable improve
ment. But it might have been
otherwise. Later, when I had al
ready been transferred to the Oran-
ienburg concentration camp, I was
informed by another prisoner, also
from Columbia House, of the fol-
lowing incident which occurred
there on December 18th:
Anonymity of Number
On December 18th this comrade
and John Schehr we're taken down
into the cellar of Columbia House
for bath. The SIS. men who
brought them down asked him,
pointing to Schehr, do you know
this fellow?" He answered in the
negative. What, you filthy Jew,
do you say that you don't know the
leader of the German C.P.?" Com
rade Schehr interfered, so as to
save the other: THAT is very pos
sible. I am unknown in Berlin,
since I worked publicly most ex-
clusively in Hamburg and Hanover"
The SIS. man then turned to the
other prisoner: Eyes, we have shown
Schehr how the wind blows here.
But soon we're going to get some
one whom we are waiting for with
impotence. The Jew Hirsch from
the Rote Fahne.' Wen show it to
hirnl"
At that time I had already been
over two weeks in Columbia House.
The man had only to go up one
story higher to see me. The fact
that from the very moment of their
arrival in prison the majority Of
prisoners are only known by num-
bers was very favorable for me here.
I was called by my number, nine
teen seventy-five." And in all prob
ability the incognito of Number
1875 had sheltered me from more
severe ill-treatment.
The hero of Columbia House was
Comrade John Schehr. He was sub
jected to the most brutal tortures
and he bore them as true hero.
A few weeks after I was transferred
from Columbia House to Oranien-
burg, Comrade John Schehr, to-
gether with Comrades Schoenhaar,
Steinfurth and SchWarz were taken
out of Columbia House one evening
and shot in the woods. Comrade
Schehr was murdered, because they
wished to do away with witness
in defense of Comrade Thaelmann.
Since none of the tortures had sue
ceeded in breaking his spirit, the
fascist murderers silenced him with
the revolvers.