The camp authorities allowed
Powell to visit the Embassy at least once a week and in that
way I was enabled, to keep in direct touch with the camp. At
two periods during my stay in Berlin I spent enough days at the
camp to enable every prisoner who had a complaint of any kind
to present it personally to me.
The organisation of this camp was quite extraordinary. I found
it impossible to get British prisoners to perform the ordinary
work of cleaning up the camp, and so forth, always expected of
prisoners themselves; and so, with the funds furnished me from
the British Government, the camp captain was compelled to pay a
number of the poorer prisoners to perform this work. Secretaries
Ruddock and Kirk of our Embassy undertook the uninteresting and
arduous work of superintending these payments as well as of our
other financial affairs. This work was most trying and they deserve
great credit for their self-denial. By arrangement with the British
Government, I was also enabled to pay the poorer prisoners an
allowance of five marks a week, thus permitting them to buy little
luxuries and necessities and extra food at the camp canteen which
was early established in the camp.
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