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CHAPTER I IT IS WAR
CHAPTER I IT IS WAR
It was the 26th of July, 1914. My wife and I were walking leisurely in the park of a village in the Pyrenees, the sun shedding its warm, quickening rays in the Valley of the Gave when, suddenly, a newsboy approached us carrying under his arms a bundle of newspapers, and crying at the top of his voice, “War! War! It is War!” I stopped him, asking at the same time, “What war?” “Why, the war between Austria and Serbia. The paper will give you all the details,” he answered. As a matter of fact, the
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CHAPTER II THE GERMAN TAVERN-KEEPER AND THE BRABANÇONNE
CHAPTER II THE GERMAN TAVERN-KEEPER AND THE BRABANÇONNE
Great agitation reigned on the beach at Middelkerke on August 3, 1914. The newspapers had just published the text of the Kaiser’s ultimatum to the Belgian Government. The indignation was at its highest pitch. The population could not conceive that the German Emperor, who had been entertained in Brussels a few months previously, who had been the guest of the King of the Belgians and the Belgian nation, could stoop so low as to insult both King and people. From the villa where we lived we could wa
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CHAPTER III “THANK YOU”
CHAPTER III “THANK YOU”
We had left Middelkerke, “armes et bagages,” as we say in French. When I say arms and baggage it is a mere figure of speech, as our fowling-guns had been confiscated by the municipal authorities at Middelkerke and had been placed in the town hall. This precaution was taken in all communes of Belgium, to avoid untimely intervention of armed civilians, who, prompted by justified but unlawful indignation, might have committed acts which, under international rights, are contrary to the laws of war.
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CHAPTER IV DOING HOSPITAL WORK
CHAPTER IV DOING HOSPITAL WORK
It is unnecessary for me, I think, to insist here upon the patriotism displayed by the Belgian nation. All classes of the population, rich and poor, young and old, of all ages and of both sexes, were anxious to help the national cause of their country, threatened by the Germanic monster. During the first days of August, 1914, on all sides I was asked the question: “Mr. Beland, what do you think England will do?” And I had from the outset a sincere conviction, which I expressed freely, that if Ge
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CHAPTER V THE CAPTURE OF ANTWERP
CHAPTER V THE CAPTURE OF ANTWERP
It is out of question for me to try to relate in full justice the military events which attended the attack and capture of Antwerp by the Germans. Divers histories of the war, published in French and English since 1914, have reported the principal phases and details of the memorable event. I will confine myself then to certain incidents which I witnessed, and in which I participated. Antwerp, as is well known, was reported to be impregnable. The city itself is surrounded by walls and canals. In
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CHAPTER VI THE EXODUS
CHAPTER VI THE EXODUS
What a touching spectacle–that of a whole people fleeing to another country! This sight we witnessed in all its tragic pathos. While the Germans approached from the east and south-east towards Antwerp, the population of Malines and the neighboring villages, the people of the villages situated between the outer and the inner lines of the forts, the inhabitants of Duffel, Lierre, Contich, Viedieux and fifty other villages had poured into Antwerp, and when it became evident, on Tuesday and Wednesda
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CHAPTER VII A DAY OF ANGUISH
CHAPTER VII A DAY OF ANGUISH
Friday, October 9, 1914, was a day of anxiety and fear for the city of Antwerp and the villages situated inside the fortified position. The Germans were within our midst, and from 9 o’clock in the morning the soldiers of the Kaiser began to extend their positions around the fortress, along the routes from the east and south-east. What was to become of Capellen? was a question asked by all of us. All along the paths of the park of Starrenhof (residence of Mrs. Beland-Cogels), on the Antwerp-Holla
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CHAPTER VIII THE GERMANS ARE HERE
CHAPTER VIII THE GERMANS ARE HERE
On the morning of October 10, at about 9 o’clock, a messenger called at our house and, on behalf of a group of citizens, invited me to the City Hall. I was at a loss to know why my presence was wanted there, and decided to go at once. The City Hall was no more than one kilometre distant, and on my way I had to cross the unending procession of refugees slowly wending their toilsome way in the direction of Holland. At the City Hall, I was met by a number of representative citizens of Capellen. The
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CHAPTER IX A GERMAN HOST
CHAPTER IX A GERMAN HOST
“Do please hurry, and return to the house, my dear sir and madame, for the Germans are there.” It was a young lady who thus addressed us on the sidewalk midway between the church and the chateau. My wife and I were returning from church when we were thus apprised that the Hun was more than at the gate–that in fact he was beyond it, and actually in the house awaiting our return. We hastened our footsteps homeward. The first thing we observed was an automobile standing opposite the main entrance.
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CHAPTER X THE WORD OF A GERMAN
CHAPTER X THE WORD OF A GERMAN
Towards the end of October, 1914, two or three weeks after the evacuation of the fortress of Antwerp, His Eminence Cardinal Mercier issued a pastoral letter to his clergy and people entreating the Belgians who took refuge in Holland during the terrible weeks of the bombardment of the northern region of Belgium to return to their homes. This letter contained a special provision which is remembered to this day. The Cardinal stated that, after a conference with the German authorities, he was convin
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CHAPTER XI BRITISH CITIZENS
CHAPTER XI BRITISH CITIZENS
Early in February, 1915, my wife and I went to Antwerp, and called at the Central Office for the issuing of safe-conducts (passports). We submitted to the two officers in charge our request to be authorized to leave Belgium. “Where do you wish to go?” inquired one of the officers. “To Holland,” I replied. “For what purpose?” “In order to embark for America.” “Why go to America?” “Because I wish to return home to Canada, where I reside.” “Then you are British subjects?” “Yes.” The officer appeare
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CHAPTER XII MATTERS BECOME COMPLICATED
CHAPTER XII MATTERS BECOME COMPLICATED
Military police inspection at this period became much more stringent. If one were walking along the street, or visiting a neighbor, or making a sick call, he was liable to be kept under the closest surveillance. It was not an uncommon experience in the course of a walk in the garden to suddenly perceive the ferret-like eye of an official watching you from a cluster of foliage nearby. As a matter of fact, we felt our every movement was spied upon. The least infraction of the regulations imposed b
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CHAPTER XIII A DESOLATE MAJOR
CHAPTER XIII A DESOLATE MAJOR
One can readily realize that a journey to Antwerp under the escort of a German soldier had rather humiliated me. I wrote a letter of protest to Major Von Wilm, relating all the incidents of the day. A few days afterwards I received a reply from this officer, who explained that my arrest was owing to a denunciation; that he had supplied the German military police with all necessary information; that everything was now properly arranged, and that I need have no inquietude as to the future. I succe
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CHAPTER XIV IN GERMANY
CHAPTER XIV IN GERMANY
Overcome by the tidings of what was to be my fate I had no inclination for lunch before I left Antwerp. In the evening I was seized by the pangs of hunger, and as there was a dining-car on the train I suggested to my guardian that we should take dinner. My companion, however, did not understand one word either of English or French. I was unable to speak German at that time so our only mode of communication was by gesture and signs. The spectacle must have been quite comical to an onlooker. Final
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CHAPTER XV THE STADTVOGTEI
CHAPTER XV THE STADTVOGTEI
We were in front of the Stadtvogtei. It is a prison well-known in Germany. In times of peace it lodges persons who are awaiting trial before the Court of Assizes, and to it political prisoners are consigned. It is situated on Dirksen street, about two hundred yards distant from the Alexandre Square, and adjoins the police headquarters. It is of immense construction, divided into triangular sections. We halted at the front entrance and a few moments later we were admitted into an office where we
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CHAPTER XVI LIFE IN PRISON
CHAPTER XVI LIFE IN PRISON
That section of the Stadtvogtei wherein I was confined could give shelter to two hundred and fifty prisoners in about one hundred and fifty cells. Some of the cells contained as many as eight prisoners and a large number of them did not measure more than 12, 13, or 15 cubic metres. The scantiness of these cavities forced the occupants to keep the window constantly open if they would have sufficient air to breathe. The sections, as I say, were triangular in shape, the open space inside the triang
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CHAPTER XVII MEALS À LA CARTE
CHAPTER XVII MEALS À LA CARTE
The manner in which war prisoners and interned civilians were fed and treated in Germany gave rise, as we all know, to bitter complaints and more bitter controversies in the newspaper press of the allied countries. The repeated complaints of the prisoners themselves, in their letters to friends in Great Britain, and through the United States Embassy is a matter of record. Let me relate an incident which is not lacking in interest: Among the Englishmen who were interned at the Stadtvogtei was a M
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CHAPTER XVIII ACTING JAIL PHYSICIAN
CHAPTER XVIII ACTING JAIL PHYSICIAN
During the three years of my captivity in the jail at Berlin I frequently had occasion to exercise my profession as a medical doctor. Medical care was supposed to be given to the prisoners by an old practitioner of Berlin, a Dr. Becker. He visited the jail every day between the hours of nine and ten o’clock in the morning. Sick prisoners, accompanied by a non-commissioned officer, went to him in his office, which was situate in a section of the building adjoining the jail proper. Exactly at ten
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CHAPTER XIX INTERESTING PRISONERS
CHAPTER XIX INTERESTING PRISONERS
Among the interesting prisoners I knew in the Stadtvogtei during my long captivity there are several who deserve special mention. Early in 1916 there were frequently heard proceeding from a section of the jail near the division where I was confined the tones of soft music. For a time we did not know whether the music came from the outside or the inside of the building. Conjectures were in order. Some of my companions believed the music was played by a talented violinist who was held prisoner as
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CHAPTER XX MACLINKS AND KIRKPATRICK
CHAPTER XX MACLINKS AND KIRKPATRICK
The names of two prisoners, Maclinks and Kirkpatrick, recall to my mind one of the most tragic events of my prison life. Maclinks was already in the Berlin jail when I arrived in June, 1915. The door of his cell bore an indication that he was a British subject. He spoke English fluently, and if one may believe what he said of himself he was for several years the correspondent of the London Times at Vienna, where he lived. According to all initial appearances, Maclinks was a loyal British subject
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CHAPTER XXI A SWISS AND A BELGIAN
CHAPTER XXI A SWISS AND A BELGIAN
One of the interned cases which is likely to be heard of is that of Mr. Hintermann, a subject of Switzerland. In referring to the case in the course of a narrative of this kind it is obviously necessary to maintain a certain amount of reserve and not to make public details which might inopportunely throw too much light on the actions of certain officials who were then in the employ of the Department of Foreign Affairs for Switzerland. Mr. Hintermann was a Swiss by birth, and although he had been
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CHAPTER XXII SENSATIONAL ESCAPES
CHAPTER XXII SENSATIONAL ESCAPES
In prison life one question looms up every day before many of the prisoners. It is that of possible escape. During the three years I spent in the Stadtvogtei several escapes took place. It would take too long to relate here a story in detail of all the escapes which occurred. I would like, however, to mention the case of two prisoners who evaded the guards on three occasions; twice getting through the lines of the camp of Ruhleben, and once escaping from the prison where I was confined. The two
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CHAPTER XXIII HOPE DEFERRED
CHAPTER XXIII HOPE DEFERRED
It was in the month of May, 1916. I had then been a prisoner at the Stadtvogtei for one year. Repeated requests made by myself, through the American Embassy, and made on my behalf by the Canadian and British Governments to secure my freedom, had been of no avail. Sometimes my requests were not even acknowledged. I began to fear I might remain a prisoner until the end of the war. One evening, about seven o’clock, after all prisoners had been locked up for the night, a non-commissioned officer emp
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CHAPTER XXIV A COLLOQUY
CHAPTER XXIV A COLLOQUY
I had been in prison then for two years, seeing nothing outside but the sky and a wall pierced by some fifty iron-barred windows. For two short hours, one year before, as stated in the previous chapter, I had been granted the privilege to walk on the streets, to breathe the free atmosphere of the city. My general health was bad. I could neither read nor sleep. Mentally I was seriously depressed. I had abandoned all hope of regaining my liberty before the end of hostilities. But one day the old j
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CHAPTER XXV INCIDENTS AND OBSERVATIONS
CHAPTER XXV INCIDENTS AND OBSERVATIONS
A few weeks after entering prison I was called into the office on the ground floor, where I found myself face to face with a person entirely unknown to me. “I am Mr. Wassermann, manager of the German Bank,” said this visitor, in introducing himself. “Are you Mr. Beland?” “Yes, sir; I am,” I replied. “Then be seated,” he continued. “The day before yesterday I received a letter from one of my fellow-countrymen who is resident in Toronto. He informs me that he has learned from the Canadian newspape
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CHAPTER XXVI TALK OF EXCHANGE
CHAPTER XXVI TALK OF EXCHANGE
April 19, 1918, will ever remain a memorable date for me. I had just received a request to present myself at the Kommandantur, and a non-commissioned officer was waiting on the ground floor to conduct me to the office. What was the matter now? It had not infrequently happened that a prisoner, after being summoned to the Kommandantur, was never seen by us again. He had been summarily transferred to another prison. My present request, therefore, was not very reassuring. However, I could not hesita
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CHAPTER XXVII TOWARDS LIBERTY
CHAPTER XXVII TOWARDS LIBERTY
One cannot but look forward with feelings of deep emotion to the moment when he will leave a prison where he has been detained for three years and where he has made sincere and devoted friends. A large number of those who had been my companions in captivity had already left the jail, but there remained some ten prisoners of British nationality–particularly three or four–who were very dear to me. On the Friday, some hours previous to the time of my departure, I obtained from the sergeant-major pe
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CHAPTER XXVIII SOME RECOLLECTIONS
CHAPTER XXVIII SOME RECOLLECTIONS
During seven weeks’ sojourn in this charming little country of Holland, in the course of the many walks I took along the countryside, in the woods and parks, my thoughts reverted to that prison where I had lived for three years. My mind recalled certain conversations and certain incidents. I spoke a little while ago of Lieutenant Block and his courteous manner towards me. It should not be inferred, however, from what I stated, that Prussianism was obliterated from him. He had the Prussian office
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CHAPTER XXIX OTHER REMINISCENCES
CHAPTER XXIX OTHER REMINISCENCES
During the years 1916 and 1917, and for the first part of 1918, Germany possessed one god and one idol. The god was Emperor William and the idol was Hindenburg. It will be remembered that at the outbreak of the war Hindenburg was a retired general leading a peaceful life at Hanover. Thence the Emperor recalled him from retirement and relative obscurity and gave him the command of the German forces operating in Eastern Prussia. At that time the Russians occupied part of the Baltic Provinces. The
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CHAPTER XXX AN ALSATIAN NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER
CHAPTER XXX AN ALSATIAN NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER
In a preceding chapter, I referred to an officer at the Kommandantur by the name of Wolff. He was a German Jew who could “give points” to Prussians! He displayed a large number of decorations, among which one noticed the emblem of a Turkish Order worn in the centre of the abdomen! Amongst ourselves we frequently made fun of this barrel-bellied officer, carrying a kind of crescent on his front! I wish to relate here an incident in which I was a participant: Every Tuesday and Friday, during the la
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CHAPTER XXXI IN HOLLAND AND IN ENGLAND
CHAPTER XXXI IN HOLLAND AND IN ENGLAND
I had enjoyed for two days the charming hospitality of Holland when I was invited to visit the British General Consulate at Rotterdam. The previous day I was at The Hague, where I registered at the British Legation. Responding now to the invitation I left my hotel at ten o’clock and called at the General Consulate at Rotterdam. Here I was informed that it had been arranged that I should leave Holland on the following day en route for England, the voyage across the Channel to be made in a hospita
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CHAPTER XXXII THE MILITARISTS AND THE MILITARIZED
CHAPTER XXXII THE MILITARISTS AND THE MILITARIZED
To properly understand the German mentality one must turn to the country’s military history. Germany–that is, Prussia and her forty millions of people; a few smaller kingdoms such as Bavaria, Saxony, and Wurtemburg; and some fifteen lesser States–was federated in 1871. In 1864 Prussia made victorious war against Denmark. In 1866 she carried on another victorious campaign against Austria. Then, in 1870, after an exceedingly adroit diplomatic campaign which assured the neutrality of the other grea
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