By common consent good treatment of prisoners of war is a law imposed on civilised nations. American instructions, in their article 56, do but put into words the feelings of civilised mankind when they say, “A prisoner of war must suffer no penalty in so far as he is a public enemy; no suffering, no dishonour1 will be intentionally2 imposed upon him by way of reprisal3, neither imprisonment4, nor deprivation5 of food, nor mutilation, nor death, nor any barbarous treatment.” Such is the line of conduct which belligerents6 long have followed in this matter; such is the idea they entertain of their duty in war.
The German Idea
In the present war, however, we have seen the Germans change all that: in this respect, as in so many others, they have shown unmitigated contempt for current conceptions of war. They have been seen to vent7 their hatred8 and desire for vengeance9 upon a prisoner. Therein is the reaction of a feeling of cruel pride. Have not the prisoners of war who fall into German hands committed the crime of offering resistance to the actions of the first people in the world? Consequently, M. Pierre Nothomb remarks, in his book, Belgique Martyre, “in the hands of the German a prisoner is not a soldier who has been unlucky, but a victim who is to endure his hatred.”
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Germany took good care not to advertise this principle. It would have been too open a violation10 of the law of nations, and, besides, it would have exposed her to reprisals11. Prisoners who surrendered in a body were spared up to a certain point. But the case was different with prisoners taken in little groups. Towards them, because their fate was more obscure, and the manner in which they were treated might appear to involve less responsibility for the whole system, no ill-treatment and cruelty, from insults to death, were omitted. They were jeered12 at, and from mockery their tormentors went on to blows and wounds.
Blows
At Camperhout (in Belgium) the Germans amused themselves with imposing13 on the prisoners fatigue-duty, in the course of which the latter were struck on the slightest pretext14. A Greek, who was a volunteer in the French army, has told what happened, in a letter to the Nea Himera at Athens. “There were eight hundred prisoners of us, five of whom were Greeks. We were brought before German officers, who ordered us to undress. Then they had us tied with ropes and whipped by six German soldiers.”
They were undressed and stripped of what they had. “When I was able to get my clothes again,” said the same witness, “I found that a sum of 3850 francs and an old gold medal had disappeared.”
Cross-examination
At the same time that vengeance was being taken on the prisoners, attempts were made to extract from them information which would be useful for carrying[99] on the war. They were questioned as to what they had seen, as to the enemy forces and the positions occupied by them, and in general on all military or strategic questions on which they might be supposed to have knowledge, as an hour previously15 they had been in the trenches16. Sometimes, in order to obtain information like this, they were content to resort to a ruse17; on other occasions they went as far as threats followed by actions.
Despicable German officers dared to cross-examine prisoners whom they had just made. Brought bound before the officers, the prisoners found they were ordered to reply under penalty of being tortured and killed. Near Aerschot, a Belgian soldier, who had been made a prisoner, understood that he was asked in this manner, by an officer and three soldiers, where were his regiment18 and the body of his troops. This soldier, who had refused to reply, was thrown to the ground, kicked, and finally abandoned, still tied with ropes.
On the 29th March the Germans took prisoner, north of Mychinetz, a Russian non-commissioned officer, Paphyre Panasiouk, and tortured him in the presence of ten German officers, who tried to drag information from him about the positions of the Russian troops. Having refused to act as a traitor19 to the advantage of his enemies, the wretched non-commissioned officer had the lobe20 of his right ear cut off by a German officer, who then, in four strokes, cut off the top of the ear, leaving only a piece of cartilage round the auricular passage. In the meantime, another officer was mutilating his nose, separating the cartilage from the bone, and biting him. This torture lasted for a whole hour, and the victim, who afterwards succeeded in giving[100] his guards the slip, was placed in hospital at Warsaw, where the doctors photographed his mutilated face.
Murders
In other places prisoners were shot. In an official note of the Russian Government, a German officer was mentioned by name as having formally given the order to hang all Cossacks who should be made prisoner. This was Major Modeiski, of the German cuirassiers. In confirmation21 of the fact, it was stated that in many places Cossack prisoners had been hanged, shot or killed by bayonet thrusts; at Radom, in the middle of October, an officer and four Cossacks; at Ratchki, a Cossack; at Monastijisk, four Cossacks; at Tapilovka, the Cossack Jidkof, who had been made prisoner at Souvalki, etc.
At Chabatz, sixty Serbian soldiers, who had been made prisoner, were massacred, and in the Belfort region a large number of French prisoners were undressed by the Germans, who exposed them naked to French bullets, and threw others into the canal, only to take them out again and throw them in once more.
At Namur, during the retreat, Parfonnery, an infantryman, was made prisoner with a group of soldiers. “Their hands were tied behind their backs, they were bound together four by four; they were compelled to march all day, being struck with the flat of the sword and the butt-end of the rifle, and finally were thrown into the cellars of the Chateau23 Saint-Gérard.” Elsewhere another Belgian prisoner, who rebelled against this ill-treatment, had his neck twisted by his guards.
At Dixmude, Lieutenant24 Poncin (of the 12th Belgian Regiment of the Line) was shot after having been bound round the middle by a wire tied about ten times[101] round his legs. On the 6th September a Belgian cavalryman25, who had been made prisoner, was disarmed26, then bound and had his bowels27 opened with bayonet thrusts. Near Sempst the Germans opened the bowels of two Belgian carabineers and pulled out their entrails; at Tamine the Germans tied a French officer to the trunk of a tree and harnessed horses to each of his legs. By forcing the horses to run, the wretched man was torn asunder28. These latter facts are reported in M. Pierre Nothomb’s book. At Saenski (in the Souvalki area) a Cossack was burnt alive on the first of October. Other Russian prisoners also were condemned29 to die of hunger. In other places Cossacks were condemned to dig their graves and were shot.
German Admissions
In September 1914, when the Russians were forced to evacuate30 eastern Prussia before the advancing Germans, they had recourse to what was an indisputable right by making unusable such provisions as they could not carry away. In this way enormous quantities of bread were wet with petrol by orders from headquarters, so that the enemy could get no advantage from it. The Frankfurter Zeitung of the 8th October recorded this act as a crime which deserved punishment. Under the heading “A Just Punishment,” this paper had the hardihood to tell of the vengeance which the Germans enacted31 for it. The stores were at Insterbourg. The Russians, wrote the Frankfurter Zeitung, had reckoned without General Hindenburg’s sense of humour. When this general was informed of the matter, he said, “There is no accounting32 for tastes. The Russians have their tastes. This bread will do to feed Russian prisoners of war until these[102] provisions are exhausted33.” Let us not forget to notice the style of this article. This expression of the most cruel wrath34, and of the keenest thirst for vengeance, is called “humour.” And in what journal? In one of the most influential35 and most moderate organs in Germany. There can be no more striking admission both of the acts of cruelty and of the barbaric passion which instigated36 them.
A perusal37 of the confession38 of these abominations, a confession, too, made in such terms, gives a better idea of the character and aims of this nation.
General Stenger, to whom we have already referred, the commander of the 38th Brigade, gave instructions for the massacre22 of the wounded in an order of the day which we reproduce verbatim, and which is so abominable39 that it is beyond criticism.
“From to-day, there will be no more prisoners made. All prisoners will be massacred. Even prisoners who have already been arranged in convoys40 will be massacred. Behind us no enemy will be left alive.
“Stoy, Lieutenant and Commander-in-Chief of the Company.
“Neubauer, Colonel in command of the Regiment.
“Stenger, General in command of the Brigade.”
M. Bédier has reproduced in his book the actual original of this document.
Treatment of Prisoners in Germany
Once they had left the battlefields for the German fortresses41, where they were to be kept under guard, it was inevitable42 that prisoners of war should be exposed to the most brutal43 ill-treatment, death, wounds and blows. A regular prison regimen following upon[103] possible outrages44 on the field of battle would, of course, absolutely prevent that. But all the penalties which the prisoners could possibly be made to suffer under these new circumstances were heaped upon them in profusion45. They were not allowed to have their letters; customs duties were imposed on the packages sent to them from their own country, and the transmission of these packages was irregular and uncertain; finally, some of these consignments46 were constantly and systematically47 looted.
The French Government complained. In fear of reprisals the Germans had to alter their ways, though in some respects they continued as before. They refused to sanction the pay of private soldiers and non-commissioned officers, who had been taken prisoner; they fixed48 the pay of inferior and superior officers at the ridiculous amounts of sixty and a hundred marks; they refused to serve out allowances of tobacco and cruelly cut short the supply of food.
These measures are significant. They show Germany’s view of the prisoner of war. The only favour she allows him is not to kill him, not to beat him, not to let him die outright49 of hunger. We speak here of orders given and measures taken by the higher command, for which no excuse that pleads the inhumanity of war could be admitted.
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1
dishonour
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| n./vt.拒付（支票、汇票、票据等）；vt.凌辱，使丢脸；n.不名誉，耻辱，不光彩 | |
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intentionally
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| ad.故意地，有意地 | |
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3
reprisal
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| n.报复，报仇，报复性劫掠 | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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deprivation
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| n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困 | |
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belligerents
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| n.交战的一方（指国家、集团或个人）( belligerent的名词复数 ) | |
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7
vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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8
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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9
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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reprisals
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| n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 ) | |
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jeered
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| v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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ruse
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| n.诡计，计策；诡计 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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20
lobe
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| n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶 | |
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confirmation
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| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
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massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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cavalryman
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| 骑兵 | |
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disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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30
evacuate
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| v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便 | |
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31
enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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accounting
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| n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表 | |
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33
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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34
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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35
influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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36
instigated
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| v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
perusal
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| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
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38
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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39
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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40
convoys
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| n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队 | |
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41
fortresses
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| 堡垒，要塞( fortress的名词复数 ) | |
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42
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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43
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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44
outrages
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| 引起…的义愤，激怒( outrage的第三人称单数 ) | |
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45
profusion
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| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
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46
consignments
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| n.托付货物( consignment的名词复数 )；托卖货物；寄售；托运 | |
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47
systematically
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| adv.有系统地 | |
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48
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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49
outright
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| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
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