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Page 34
"Next three men," shouted the theatre orderly.
The next three were light cases. They were dealt with very quickly. Then
the German hobbled across and several English wounded followed in rapid
succession. When the waiting-room was empty we went over to the Prep.
and fetched the other Germans along. There were no wounded arriving at
the station at that moment, but we knew from the distant rumble of the
bombardment that the Prep. would soon be crowded once again.
A number of British soldiers gathered round the entrance of the
waiting-room, curious to see the prisoners and hear what they had to
say.
"Ask 'em if they're glad to be out of it."
I put the question and there was a chorus of fervent "Ja's" and "Gott
sei Dank's."
They were all glad to be out of it. No more fighting for them, Gott sei
Dank! War was no good, at least not for the common soldier.
"Ask him what he thinks of Hindenburg."
A cheerful youngster from East Prussia answered: "Der's' nicht besser
als wir--He's no better than we are!"
"Did you ever see him?"
"Yes, he came into the trenches a week ago and gave us cakes and
cigars."
"But that was jolly sporting of him, wasn't it?"
"He can keep his cigars--_he_ doesn't have to lie in shell holes for
days on end."
"War's no good," said a small man with a protruding forehead and keen
eyes and wearing a red-cross on his arm. "Ich danke meinem Gott--I thank
my God that I've never taken up a rifle during the whole war, and I've
been in it since the beginning. No human being has lost his life through
me, thank God."
"Was f�r'n Zweck hat es--What's the good of shooting each other like
this? The heads ought to come and fight it out amongst themselves."
"It's good for politicians and profiteers--f�r die ist's gut."
"Ask them what they think of the submarines."
A Lieutenant of the Prussian Guard answered contemptuously that he
didn't think much of them. He didn't believe stories of food-shortage in
England, he didn't believe anything the papers said, they were all full
of lies.
"Ask them if they're satisfied with their treatment."
Yes, they were all satisfied. The Lieutenant pronounced it "blendend"
(dazzling). They had not eaten so much and such good food for months and
months. Oh it was good to be out of the fighting. Yes, their treatment
was perfect--except for the thieving. Why were British soldiers allowed
to steal the buttons, caps, rings, and watches belonging to their
prisoners?
A German private, a tall thin man with bushy eyebrows, who had not
spoken hitherto, said he didn't mind losing a few buttons--but to rob a
man of his marriage ring, that was very mean--eine Gemeinheit--his
marriage ring had been taken from him: he would have lost anything
rather than that, for it always reminded him of home.
The boy from East Prussia said he didn't care what they took from him as
long as they didn't take his life. He was safe now and nothing else
mattered. He spoke with a Polish accent.
I asked him what town he came from.
"Allenstein."
"Did you see anything of the Russians in 1914?"
"Jawohl"--he had seen plenty of Russian troops. They behaved very well.
"Die sind besser als die Deutschen--They're better than the Germans...."
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