GERMAN PRISONERS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 205, 1 September 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

GERMAN PRISONERS.

THEY MUST NOT TALK. Th« fol'owing is a translation, says Renter, of a ppnted notice found in a German trench. It is issued to all subordinate ranks, and is signed by Gen eral von Stein: —German prisoners, when interrogated in the first bewilderment of capture, sometimes give answers which awake in our enemies the hope that they may yet bo able to conquer us. Any brave and honourably soldier may have the misfortune to be taken prisoner. Even then he can still help his Fatherland by fulfilling his duty. In this case his duty consists in giving no information when questioned by the enemy. Even the .disclosure of Is s age, training, and service may be harmful to our interests. Other things which he must not tell the enemy are: —What part of the line his unit held previously: how and when he came to Ins present sector; what units ate ih the neighbourhood; the positions ot Headquarters, dumps, and depots; the strength and moral of his own troops. A German officer says nothing when captured, but remains silent. Brave German soldiers must do likewise. Our enemies in their unfavourablesituation endeavour, by repeating prisoners' statements; to raise their own hopes and those of their paople at home. That naturally prolongs their resistance. Prisoners are the people who suffer most thereby, for they hav l * so much the longer to wait for their liberation. Hp who says nothing and betrays nothing shortens the war and the duration of his own imprisonment.