IN A GERMAN PRISON CAMP

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 148, 18 March 1920, Page 7

IN A GERMAN PRISON CAMP

LIFE UNDER NIEMEYER EXPERIENCES OF LIEUTENANT JURISS ; "It is one of the strangest experiences out to read your own obituary -notice," said Lieutenant Max Juriss, M.C., of Wellington, who recently returned from England. "I had my biggest laugh reading all tho nice things they said about me nfter I was- dead." Lieutenant Juriss, who was formerly a member of the New Zealand Forces, went to England in 191.5. and was immediately appointed signalling officer to the Royal Lancashire Regiment (10th King's Own), but desiring to go into action he exchanged to the 7th Citv of London Regiment, and went to Prance in December, 1915. After five months in the trenches he was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry, and 21 days later, in a fierce engagement at Vimv Ridge, he was taken prisoner.by the Germans, while endeavouring to succour a wounded corporal. His capture occurred after a violent bombardment of the advance post by howitzers. As soon as ho was detected, as an officer. Lieutenant Juriss was surrounded by a dozen men with rifios, and an officer, who was armed with a huge club, a weapon 6aid to have been used by tho Germans for "settling" wounded Britishers. His life was spared, however, as the Germans exnected to gain information from hiin. They did— of a sort. Then commenced a trying tim<> of over two years in filthy German nrison enmns, first at Douai. then at Mainz, /it Freidberg. and finally at Clausthal, where he, with 250 other British officers, was shockingly treated iliy the infamous German Commandant. Ccptain Niemeyer, Thanks to Lieutenant Juriss, -Niemeyer's name was included' in the list of German criminals whose trial is demanded l>y the Allies. Lieutenant Juriss was able to secure a portrait of Niemeyer, and it was in due course handed to the War Office. At Clausthal they all had a terrible time, the object of the Commandant being to break down the health of his prisoners, and in many cases he succeeded only too well. Had it not been for the parcels from England, and, in Lieutenant Juriss's case, from New Zealand, nono of the prisoners could have survived the awful ordeal. Whilst at Clausthal Lieutenant Juriss endeavoured, with others, to escape, but all failed. As the. ■ trnnrloor leading to. the tunnel, through which they were going to try to escape,, was discovered under his bed, Lieutenant Juriss was given a seven months' sentence. However, at the end of June. 1918, his turn came to be exchanged, and no mntter whatjhad occurred , the lists were strictly adhered to. So sure of victory wero the Germans-even then that Niemeyer said to Juriss that after the war he woujd ho brought back to Germany to serve his sentence. The German papers said that the English fleet had been sunk, that the British Army was at its last gasp, 'and that London was awaste of ruins. Such were tho lies that the German people were fed on to the ■lait. v After 3 months in Holland Lieut. Juriss was sent across to England, and went into hospital with a nervous breakdown. Referring to li'is experineces at Clausthal, Lieutenant Juriss said that tho first one anions the prisoners to recognise him was Captain Estcourt, who was A.D.C. hero to Lord Islington, and a fortnight after he arrived there they were' joined by some naval officers who had been captured in tho Battle of 'Jutland. Among these was S'ub-Lieritenant Dearden, formerly of A.shburton. said to have been the sole survivor of tho Queen Alary. On recovering his health after tho armistice, Lieutenant Juriss was sent to Cells, ( in Ilanover, to take charge of a ■big ca'mn of Russian prisoners there on behalf of the British Red Cross Society and the Tnter-AUied Commission. There wero 7(100 in one camp and 1000 each in two other adjacent camps. The. prisoners were a handful to manage as Bolshevism was rife amongst them, and outbreaks were not infrequent. The officers were fine, well-educated fellows, but tho men .had no .education at all, and iveroeasily influenced by anyone with ideas and a "gift of tho. gab." On the whole, however, the men were of .a good stamp, amenable to discipline, and. pronerly led, would make as good soldiers as any existing. Lieutenant Juriss was in charge for three months, after which he returned to' England. t Later General Wheeler wished him to' act for New Zealand on the Graves Commission, but delays iii securing his papers from the War Office .prevented his tak'ng un the work, which he would have liked to'do. a? he had already dqnij a little of it in Germany und»r the RJd' Cross. "You can never trust a German," said Lieutenant Juriss. "Whv, they cannot trust themselves. The German guards would come sneaking round the rubbish bins looking for scraps to® eat. They did not care about us' seeing them, but were afraid of tlieir own comrades seeing th°m and reporting the offence to the officers. People ask me if a German is ever any good. My answer always is: Yes, when he's dead."