LIFE IN A PRISON CAMP

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 37, 31 December 1943, Page 5

LIFE IN A PRISON CAMP

EXPERIENCES of local man TREATMENT BY GERMAN GUARDS •UNIVERSAL FOOD SHORTAGE

After two andi a half years. in German hands, Pte Andrew Kinof Whakatane,, is now home again, and 1 in happy reunion with his family in Salonika Street. Captured in Crete, when he had been severely wounded in the left shoulder and leg, he has some remarkable experiences to relate and to a BEACON representative recently gave a brief outline of sbme of hiis sojournings in Greece and in Silesia.

* On the. 25th of May the lighting in Crete, had assumed, a cowboy -and Indian aspect. There, was desperate hand to hand lighting amongst the olive groves and vineyards, with death stalking the unwary on both sides. The death roll must have been tremendous, especially amongst invading parachutists, who fell incessantly by the hundred. In the fierce lighting round Galatos he received his wounds, and was unable, to walk as a result. He was taken prisoner by a German patrol, who forced other Kiwi prisoners to carry him two miles to the Malanie aerodrome. There he was left for two days "Without medical attention until room Avas found for him in one of the returning transport planes, which llew him to .Alliens; 'There he Avas: put into the sth Australian General Hospital, which had been 'Captured Avith all its stall' save for the nursing sisters who at the last ■ moment had been relieved by Greek sisters; in order to; allow them to -escape. Hospital in Athens Treatment in this hospital was harsh, the German conquerors lording it over the wounded, and, the Greek orderlies, but. shortage of food was the, greatest problem, and many died of sheer starvation. The Greeks did all they could to smuggle food into the men but even this was little. enough. For four months hundreds lay in this hospital, and then were informed, that they were ahout to be transferred as they became well - -enough to travel. Several hundreds, including himself were transferred to an Italian hospit:iJ ship and taken to Salonika, Avhere they were herded into an old Turkish barroeks. The four days endured in these surroundings will live Avith them for a lifetime, as the place was alive, with vermin, which could be scooped up by the hand!ill. This after the Avondcrful treatment, of the Italian sisters on the hospital ship was like acute torture. Here were :gathered some 1500 Kiwi, Aussie, Tommy and Cypriot troops, most ol them wounded.

Nine Days in Cattle Truck r One morning they were paraded and told that they were about to be transferred to Germany, and that the jtmrncy would occupy approxi- _ mately five clays. A train drew up and, they were herded into cattle , trucks, Avhich were labelled '30 men t or 6 horses.' To last them the whole ( journey they were given one. loai | and two-thirds and two tins 01. swine, meat (pork). The journey actually k took nine, days, and its memories | was something like a nightmare. ( •There were no facilities for washing , • or for personal hygiene, and all the . wounded men could do was • o lie on the bottom of the trucks in either the streaming hot sun or the bitterly cold nights. Many of the men had still the battle, 'dressings on their wounds which they received when first treated, while others had improvised splints and bandages. Nevertheless some of the more adventurous endeavoured to escape and. with a j)oc.ke.t knife cut. through the planking until they were able to reach the outside lock and. open the door. In this manner fifty eaeaped, but when the guards found, out, they -opened fire, indiscriminately through all the carriages, forcing the. oeeu- . pants to hug the floor in oroer to escape the bullets. German Officer's Act One or two of the escapees were shot, but the German officer commanding. the. tiain ordered a slop, and -calling out the men . lei't ii«. the carriage from wii': ;$ the escape hud i3e.cn made, mos! of Kim coa't! only hobble p .-acccded to belabour them wit a a heavy branch which Ik: cut from a tree. 'J'he journey co.itinued 611 through Greece 'liuigai 'a Audria, Yugoslavia, miti'. hnaiiy thev reached Upper Sik---a, stoppiijg at >>. concentration •centic at Lanisdor-'. It was strange suys Pte Kinnai'd to note the difference in tho atti-

tude of the civilians towards us. Through Greece wo. had as our train passed been shown every sympathy by the peasantry, but in the Axjis countries, the people were openly hostile, making the sign of cutting our throats, as we crawled miserably past them. There was only one, stop for refreshments on the whole journey, and that was at Belgrade, when the Yugoslav Red Cross provided us with a plate of liot soup and a cup of English tea with sugar in it. ii was like a gift from heaven. 45,000 Prisoners At Lamsdorf. there were roughly -15.000 prisoners, wounded ;md fit. They were drawn from all the fighting units 'of the anti-Axis countries and embraced Australians. New Zealanders, Indians. Palestinians, Greeks Russians and dozens of Empire troops. There were 12,500 in the inner camp and 33,1)0«i attached to it as working gangs. It was under full German control and for the first IS months when the GermansX appeared. to have the upper hand tlu-. harshness and disciplinary measures were terribly hard. Men woir-d be shot on the slightest approach to the outside wires. An Air Force officer AVho was trying to peel a piece of bark off a nearby tree to start his was killed in this fashion. Later however with the tide of war against them the guards became more considerate, and seemed to be endeavouring to -eurrv favour with the prisoners. Dire Food Shortage

The diet offered by the German i'ooil ration was barely enough, to keep body and soul together, and even then was often uneatable. Hall rotted vegetables, or cabbage soup (saur'kraut), with squares of horse flesh were deemed sufficient for them, but later as the Red, Cross parcels came to hand the whole position was changed, and the regular arrival of these luxuries in the midst of the prison routine was a veritable gala event. It was the common belief in the camp that the German prison authorities transported all the horse llesh killed 011 the Russian front to the concentration camps where it was served to the prisoners. Bitterly Cold Winter The weather in November became bitterly cold and although the prisoners had. only two blankets apiece, they kept reasonably warm on their pal liases of wood wool, or sculled wooden fibre. The men who were, deemed lit left daily lor work m the fields, in factories, coal and salt

mini's, quarries and railway lines. Their Avork kept them reasonably warm but the men left in camp— the wounded found that their coal ration A\as barely enough to keep the chill out of their bones.

Them were also at this camp large batches, of Russian, Greek and , Yugoslav women who were forced to work under armed guards 011 the roads and in timber mills. Recreati'ons In the cam]) there were several good orchestras and bands, the instruments having''been supplied by the international Red Cross Society. There was also an excellent concert party, and entertainments were regularly given during the interval between ."> and <S p.m. Cricket and football matches assumed international proportions, and teams from different compounds . competed in very 'keen games in which the (-Hermans themselves were, always interested spectators. The guards, in many instances had become I'airly friendly, particularly just before he left, Avilll the certainty of an Allied victory looming up. They used their r 1 lie butts freely, but only when it • was actually warranted. 111-treatment of Russians. Tt was common knowledge in the camp howe.veV that the Russian prisoners suffered very badly at the hands of their captors. For some reason the. average German, .soldier took a delight in tourturing the Russians, They were, made to ;;ing songs derogatory to their own nation before they were given their meagre rations. whi!<- they we:*e abused and beaten on the slightest pretext. Some of the other captives 1 !. c o rci'e'ved unriuiv harsh and bru-

j- :11 Lrealnu'iit. The Daily Menu I-a Jiiiil fuller ritikni ih>u .-1 taut' pn.v.-- ii ■ tola! n.'i ! vilu - > a-id maais of tin- day: 7 a. id. UiM' am! wash. 7.Mn. JJrcakfast —on.- cup of mint lea without .su^ar. M p in., Work. 12 neon. Lunch —litre of soup and a few polaloes.

1 p.m. Work. b" p.m. Tea J-7th loaf of bread (rye; and. potato Hour) spoonful margarine, spoonful of jam. Evenings free or in library. 10 p.m. Lights out. After liglit.s out the. guards made their rounds with a couple of alsatians who attacked any one. found out-of-doors. Six-day Week Work For the tit men work went on for six days, though those on seasonal occupations were forced to Avork all the time, without even the Sunday break. On the whole the men did not complain, and only once refused to work, that being when a batch found that they were posted lo a factory turning out shell cases for use by the German army. About 2."> per cent of the guards spoke English and could make themselves fully understood. He. had often been thankful" that lie was in the EnglLsJi compounds,, and not in the nearby Russian enclosure where men were ch'ing by the hundreds from typhus. The Repatriation News that DUO men were to be transferred sent the boys concerned delirious with joy. Tliey included the badly wounded men and the hospital orderlies. The time of departure came all too slowly, but. at least they boarded a beautifully equipped hospital ship, after a tumultous send off from tlie men left in camp. The train was splendidly fitted: with a tlieatre, dispensary and cots. They travelled through the Ruhr and Rhine valleys, where is to be seen some of thei finest European scenery. Through Alsace-Lorraine and through France to Marsailles. The French Red Cross again came to the rescue with a cup of cotl'ee and ginger

bread l'or the men. i Frenchmen all through France., could, be se.cn guardedly making the Victory sign as the train went by. At Marsaillcs they boarded the Italian hospital ship Acquilia, took them to Barcelona in Sj)ain. The Spanish branch of the Red Cross Society did the honours here in line style, giving the men the iincst i'eed they had had lor over two years. Beer and wine were, in abundance as Avell as chocolates and cakes. When thej" left every man also received a parcel of food with the compliments of the Society.', Spanish Sympathies ''Talk of Spanish enthusiasm," said Pto Kinnaird. "They lined the pier in thousands as our boat pulled out next da3 T , and cheered us to the echo. The sheds were placarded with signs such as. 'Viva Churchill' and there was no doubt in any of our minds that the Spaniards or at least a b>ig .section of them were wholeheartedly with the Allies."

Their ship continued on to Alexandria, where the. men entrained for Cairo and later entered the Helwan Hospital. The story from then 011 relates mainly to the passage home to New Zealand, which, was mainly without incident.