AUSTRIAN PRISON CAMP HORRORS

Taihape Daily Times, 16 January 1918, Page 5

AUSTRIAN PRISON CAMP HORRORS

20,0001 DEATHS IN ONE HOTBED

OF DISEASE

An exchange invalided Serbian lieutenant named Koprivitsa tells terrible tales of Austrian and German brutality in the Danube region. "Wounded officers were left on the road between Kralyevo and Kashka, in Serbia. When later they were brought into our hospital, they told us terrible stories of what they had seen on the journey. The,- road was strewn with corpses of fugitives, who had been killed by the Germans by the sides of their carts and waggons. GALLOWS KEPT BUSY A German general who visited our town asked Prince Lopkovitch why he had not yet erected a gallows. The Austrians quickly took the hint, and put up gallows in all the larger towns and villages, and pictures showing people hanging on them were soon circulated and distributed amongst the population.

From place to place Koprivitsa was removed till he came to Bomenia and Heinrichgrun. Here in the earlier days of 1916 there had been 30,000 Serbian soldiers and 200 Serbian officers.

In this camp misery was appalling. Many unhappy soldiers found their graves here through starvation, disease, and hard labour at the mines. It w T as heartrending to see officers as well as soldiers bare-footed, in their rags—mere ghosts of men. There were 3000 men affectpd by tuberculosis and absolutely without care or attention. Seriously wounded offi ccrs in this camp were given no ves : tige of attention or respect.

This place, Heinrichgrun, was just a Serbian cemetery, rows of graves being continually added with due regularity as fresh batches of prisoners came In. Here died more than 20,400. In August, 1916, Bulgarian officers visited this camp, and began to pick out as recruits those men who hailed from territories in Serbia occupied by the armies of King Ferdinand. At the beginning of September, 1916, Koprivitsa was taken to Asehach' where 150 officers and 25,000 soldiers were crowded together. Here, also there reigned the same grim horrors.

From this camp as well as from others the Anßtrians carried away Serbian soldiers to the Italian front in order that they might work in the consturctionof fortifications and in trench digging-

In these camps are placed along with the prisoners of war interned civilians —women, old men, and children—a great many children between ten and twelve years of age.

I saw with my own eyes these wretched boys and girls picking up scraps of food from the drain courses.