LETTERS FROM THE DEPORTEES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3028, 15 March 1917, Page 5

LETTERS FROM THE DEPORTEES

.-4 11,000 BEHIND GERMAN BARBED WIRES BEATEN AND STARVED A telegram from Havre, Eeuler'* Agenesis informed, recently, announced that, according to recent information. forrt'ardM by eye-witnesses, 11,000 Belgians, all of them deported civilians, were interned in the concentration; camp of Gruben (Germany). A fencer of barbed wire separated them from l tho military prisoners, and. tho latter were uiiahlo to help them in any way. The deportees are very badly fed. Tho Germans forbid them to have fire in. their hutments. Whereas the military prisoners are visited by doctors belonging to the.Allied! nations, tho doportccs aro exclusively _ cared for bv German,' doctors. Notwithstanding their Bufferings tlio deportees keep up their spirits hut for a very few exceptions. They vofuso to work. Each tiiiio the Germans have forcibly carried some of them oil' to work they are compelled, owing to tho obstinate Tefusal of tha victims, to bring them back to camp. Tlio latter are then again subjected to new trials in the hopo of forcing tlier" - to give way. Struck with Rifles. The first letters to reach England from Belgian deportees came via America, where they have been published in the "New York World." They convey n ghastly impression oE the .sufferings. and l privatioiis-.cndured. "December 5, 19] 6. "On December <1 it will bo six week* since wo left Alost. As far as food was concerned, everybody was fairly, woll during tho first fortnight, for they had all taken a. fair amount of provisions with them. Tho first day of our arrival wo were led in groups towards tho railway. Wc had to help in tho setting up of a new railway near the old one. For this purpose wo had- to levol an embankment, seven metres high. Tho first day several refused! to work; the nest day everybody refused. Tho Gorman soldiers gave each workman an axe or a, shovel. When they noticed that the workmen refused to work they fetched a non-commissioned officer. The latter came at onco, and. began beating the men with the butt of his rifle. He hit one and broke tho shoulder of a third; thereupon everybody started to work. At the beginning everything went on fairly smoothly, hut the situation has grown much worse now. .Much more work is demanded, and it must be done in all weathers. The soldiers working with us watch us constantly, and tho blows fall upon us like rain. The clothes of many of us are already; in rags. Our food consists of 3. quarter of a loaf, about 250 grammes, and at noon a litre of soup. We complained regarding tho food and sent a delegation with the messags_ that, with such a diet, it was impossible to carry on the work which is demanded from us. Wo agreed that wo would not go out, but immediately six or seven Germans invaded our place, and began, hitting us with their rifles.

Food From Rubblßh Heaps, "We wore treated in a very bruta! manner. For instance, when some soup is left over and we push one another to get eorno more, tlicy keep on striking ub haphazard. 1 bave seen them hitting with a. pole'with a long; nail at tho end of it. We endeavour at present to get the potato peel, in I order to Tjoil and cafc ifc. Sonio look for bones in tho rubbish lieap. They wash the bones, boil them to make soup, and gnaw them. At first w« slept on the floor; later on on straw soiled by everybody. We now sleep in kinds of kennels; one abovo tbo other, illroo by ■. three. This straff has not been renewed during the first five weeks which I spent, at Lo Cateau. and was tlius reduced to dust. Tho privates aro worse towards us than some of the officers. Wo aro continually insulted and called dirty Belgians, Schweinhund, etc. I havo seen a, sick workman beaten without pity by a private when tho doctor had exempted our oomTade from work. The soldier wanted to load liim to the works because ho bad not given this authorisation himself. Another was wounded with a bayonet. I could extend this list. The French are very kind to us, and we would bo short of iiothing if thoy could help us, and give us things to eat, but this is strictly, prohibited. It seems that even for speaking to us they are liable to 4000 marks (£200) fine.

"Too Bad for a Pie." "Decomber 3, 1916. "At 3.30 a.m. we started througH Louvain, . Liege, and Aixda-Chapelle, where we ■ arrival at 5. At Minister they gavo us soup, but again I ate none. I had eaten nothing till then.'At half-past two in the night wo wer« at Soidau, in tho prisoners' ramp after having been, in tho train 33 hoursHere we were given maize soup. In tho morning wo received ' coffee • (acorn water)', without broad or anything; at noon shrimp soup—too had for a pie—and in the afternoon a, tiny piece of bread. . Those days were the saddest in all my life, and T had to suffer thorn for three weeks. Wa slept on a. poor straw bed, a.nd there were 150 of us in a wooden hut. Our condition was a hundred times worse than that of the war prisoners, who ; received biscuits from France and didI not have tho nasty stuff which jre had! to eat to keep alive. For three weeks T. folt an awful sorrow at leavrnp; my brother behind. He was not able to come with mo, our John, as lie had to stay in camp. This .camp, IIOTO J er \ had to be emptied, thoy allbadto co to work. Those who rofus«o were forced to go pnd work mthe marshes for 30pfg. (35d.) a day under thesu,pervision of a Gorman, and ' lpliad ?,f fc the samo thing. Now, dwnste, put yourself in our place, and tell me what you would have done. Wo W not signed anything, Items compelled to work. When wo camo to the barDcd wire there were the guards, with their bayonets fixed, and from time to time one or the other cf us was knocked with the butt of the rifle. I would rather not write any further, as I am crying while telling these things.