Evening star., 1941-08-12
By JAY ALLEN.


NEW YORK, Aug. IA had
spent something more than three
months in Chalon prison before !
learned that 1t was far too good
for us.
Along about the middle of June
two generals and the new colonel
in command of counter-espionage
and the military tribunals of the
entire region, came down from
headquarters in Dion to inspect
us. AS usual during such visitations,
We were locked in our cells. But
the acoustics of those old stone
prisons are very good and for hours
there was a great clatter of boots
on the stone floors as if q squadron
of cavalry were loose among us
and above that the snarls and yelps
that go with German army dis
cipline.
When it was all over the sentinels
were limp and very depressed. They
told us what We were in for-no
smoking. no talking, only an hour a
day in the court yard, no food at all
from outside. Guards on duty were
to carry rifles. Gestapo agents were
to be among us constantly. Sorry
for us, our guards were even sorrier
for themselves. They were to &c
into two weeks of maneuvers and
then entrain for the East They
knew what that meant-the Russian
front.
Had Good Record.
Many of them were Territorials
Uandeschutz) over 40 but they had
fine fighting record. They were
part of the division that broke
through at Sedan. thus turning the
Maginot Line. They had been
mobilized since the fall of 1898
They had had no leave since before
Christmas.
But they liked life in Chalon and
had made many friends. Up until
June and the invasion of Russia
their nightmare had been the
thought of being transferred to the
channel for the invasion of the
British Isles. They had been
worried in April when the Yugoslav
campaign began but they had
escaped that.
On the eve of the great reform ir
Chalon Prison I was sent off tc
Dion. Thus the practices l de-
scribe here are not to be taken as
representative nor as a reflection or
German efficiency in the conduct Of
military prisons; for they them.
selves had found it lax and alto.
gether too human and ordered 9
cleanup.
I am very glad that 1 had the
opportunity in Dion to study 6
prison that they consider CONNIE j
faut but not at all sorry that my frs
13 weeks were spent in Chalon, a,
it used to be. 1t is too bad In 8
way that we were not told at the
time how good 1t was. We thought
it very grim.
Take an average day. At 8 O'Clock
boots along the galleries. The pom.
derous old locks turned. One dool
opens outward the other inward.
"Aufstehen! Everybody up)."
An Hour Before Coffee.
Then you have an hour in which
to wash up and get your coffee. You
stand in line for the 10 faucets along
tin trough in the courtyard, stanc
in line for the coffee, in reality cafe
rationale, a mixture of malt anc
barley.
This is a merry hour, with much
barking and snarling by the guards
at the newcomers who hadnl
learned that the secret of success
in German prisons is always to &C
wherever you are going as If there
were a fire. In this hour cells are
cleaned.
From 8 to II you can roam al
will in a walled courtyard 100 feet
long and 80 feet wide. When il
rains you can crawl into a sort OF
shed. Between 8 and II you inspect
the newcomers, Is to 80 a morning
hear their stories, give; them advice
and engage your pals in converse
ton. Every day you see their spirits
wane. their cheeks grow thinner.
There is no privacy in prison
everybody knows how everybody
else is feeling. Efforts to exteno
comfort are pretty awkward. After
while you give up and wher
you see a comrade grayer arounc
the gills than the day before yor
simply pat him on the back anc
tell him yarn--if there is new
one about.
At IL we go in again, for souI
and our 800 grams of bread tina
are to last until tomorrow noon
We stand in line and are counted
and then are locked in until 8 IL
the afternoon. These four hour
can be very long. Between 3 and
promenade (as the guards call it
in the courtyard with the sam
faces, the same everything. At
| aasfA aAd $hAy an11 Ao<eS ava 1Snk A.