Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-12-06 | Page 1 | Judge Exposes Cruel Germans

JUDGE EXPOSES CRUELGERMANS Subjected British Officers to Gross Indignities and Treatment, Petty Tyranny Constantly Exercised and Overbearing Overbear-ing Conduct Practiced. LONDON, Dec. 5. (British Wireless service.) The commandants of (he no-. torious German prison camps of the Hanover Han-over command, who subjected British officers of-ficers to gross Indignities and brutaJ treatment, have been exposed In tlio latest lat-est report of Sir Robert Younger, judge of the, high court of justice, and his committee, which has been dealing with the t: eatment by tho enemy of British prisoners of war. Tho committee's report says it is not in the great events, Involving- at least one case of rjonricide and -yhtcli will receive special attention on some other occasion, that the true significance of the German Ger-man horrors Is to bo found, but hi the petty tyranny constantly exercised; the punishment of men ior so-called offenses, needless restrictions and the overbearing conduct of the German administration. System of Coercion. Tho report says that In 1017 General von Haenisch, In charge of the prison campus, carried out a system of coercion in conjunction with Captains Nicmeyer, twin brothers, commandants, respectively, at Holzmiuden and Kalusthal. General von Haeniseh Is termed an unreasonable un-reasonable and cruel man endowed with, a violent temper. He -took every opportunity oppor-tunity to curtail anything which would make tho prison life less irksome. He ', called the prisoners dogs and pigs, as also j did General Favlovski, inspector general of Ihti .Hanover command. . "These are our enemies." General von Haeniseh told the commandant at Appel. "Don't forget for-get to treat them as such." He was speaking of French officer prisoners. In tite presence of Italian prisoners. General von Haeniseh said: "These are oui woukl-be allies. "Do not lorget Lhat." Flourished Revolver. On reaching the British sector of the line. General von Haeniseh declared, speaking of the British, "I am hoping every day lo receive the order to send some of these people to be put up behind our lines to be shot by British shells." Captain Niemeyer of Holzmindcu is spoke r. of as the "Personification of hate." He would swagger up arid down the camp and demand to be saluted on every' passage. Those who refused to salute sa-lute were sentenced to from three to six days, in cells. The senior British officer who coiYiplainerl of profiteering in the canteen was sent to another camp. Nicmeyer Nic-meyer rejoiced In flourishing his revolver on all occasions. I The other Niemeyer, the report says. 1 lied to the prisoners,' to his superior of-' , fleers and to the representatives of The ! Netherlands legation. He suppressed ovi-! ovi-! dence by having prisoners removed to j other camps. On ,one occasion he ordered an officer to get down on his knees. Re-' Re-' fusing to comply a sentry was called for-; for-; ward and forced the officer to kneel.