As the war went on they were more and more confined to
barracks and there their situation was sad indeed. In the winter
season, it is dark at three in the afternoon and remains dark
until ten the following morning. Of course, I did not see the
Russian prison camps. The work carried on there was similar to
that carried on in the German camps by Mr. Harte and his band
of devoted assistants.
I was particularly interested in this work because I hoped that
the aid given to the German prisoners of war in Russia would help
to do away with the great hate and prejudice against Americans in
Germany. So I did all I could, not only to forward Mr. Harte's
work, but to suggest and organise the sending of the expedition
of nurses and doctors, which I have already described, to the
Russian camps.
Of course, Mr. Harte in this work did not attempt to cover all
the prison camps in Germany. He did much to help the mental and
physical conditions of the prisoners in Ruhleben, the English
civilian camp near Berlin. The American Y. M. C. A. built a great
hall where religious exercises were held, plays and lectures
given, and where prisoners had a good place to read and write
in during the day.
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