My German prisons
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| My German prisons |
the story of my two and a half years of captivity in Germany and my final escape, November 14, 1914-April 8, 1917
From the preface
The writer was appealed to, so constantly and so earnestly, to write his experiences, and was so weary recounting them, that at last, he decided to put into print a short account of the happenings within his own personal knowledge during his two and a half years imprisonment in Germany.
He was also encouraged to do so for other and more important reasons. There are countless people throughout the world who have been so unfortunate as to have intimate friends and relatives in captivity in Germany. In the opinion of the writer, these people ought to know, from one who has had a bitter experience, to which these pages will testify, the true conditions under which the wretched prisoners existed. These pages are entirely uncensored and aim at a true record of events, in which there is no word of hearsay or stories borrowed from others. As such they must stand.
To those who may be inclined to be sceptical of the newspaper reports of German brutality, it is hoped that this narrative will come as a revelation. The first edition of this book was published in the summer of 1918, by Messrs. Hodder & Stoughton, of London, receiving a tremendous ovation from the critics of the London press.
The present volume is the original book, rewritten and enlarged by the addition of facts which could not possibly have been published before the cessation of hostilities, for fear of giving valuable information to the enemy, and of calling down the wrath of the Germans on the defenceless heads of the poor prisoners who still remained in bondage.
If the facts disclosed therein bring home to the reader a knowledge of the infamous, relentless, and savage character of the Hun, deliberately dehumanized by the State for the purposes of the State, the writer will feel that his labours have not been in vain.
Contents:
I. Captured by the Boches i
II. By Cattle-Truck to Munden 19
III. The Dreariness of Camp Lite 31
IV. Our Removal to Bischofswerda 43
V. My Journey to Clausthal S^
V. My Journey to Clausthal S^
VI. Court-Martialled and Insulted 79
VII. In Hospital at Dresden 9S
VIII. The Hell-Hole of Ingolstadt 114
IX. A "Blond Beast" Commandant 134
X. Bound for Crefeld 155
XI. We Jump from the Train 174
XII. Escapes by Night and Day 189
XIII. We Hide in A Drain 203
XTV. Making for the Frontier 215
XV. Eluding the Sentries 229
XVI. Liberty and Blighty! 249