Douglas WW1 Internment Camp - Technical Club

[Taken from TNA FO383/437]

Introduction

There are two files containing various official letters between the camp, the Swiss Legation and Whitehall departments. From the small number of members (180 being half the camp) and the considerable expense of subscriptions to so many journals, it has to be a group within the Privilege Camp.

Documents

Translation

Technical Club Douglas 26.11.1917

To Dr. Vischer The Swiss Legation.

Sir,

The members of the Technical Club beg to bring the following facts to the notice of the Swiss Legation: -

The Technical Club in the P.o.War Camp, Douglas, which has been existent in its present form, for a year, numbers 180 members, i.e almost half the inmates of the small camp. When this Club was in course of formation permission was granted to the Committee by the Commandant, to subscribe to about 40 periodicals. On the 17th. August 1917, all periodicals were stopped and it was only on receipt of our letter to the Commandant, under date 18th. August (see Enc. A) that 16 of the 40 periodicals were again permitted to us. How the question of periodicals is dealt with in Germany, is apparent from the reply of an English authority (British P.o.War Book Scheme, Board of Education)(see Enc.B) The members of the Technical Club request the Swiss Legation to be good enough to inform them whether the German prisoners in England are not entitled to the same privileges as regards books and periodicals as the English prisoners in Germany, and beg to submit the following list of names of periodicals which are of special interest to the members: -

LIST of PERIODICALS.

among all these periodicals only the following are permitted, and moreover, the 3 Bracketed have not been delivered:

Electrician; (Dyer & Calico Printer )
Engineer; Hosiery Trade Journal;
Engineering; (Textile Record);
Iron Coal Trade Review; Drapers' Record;
Colliery Guardian; (Country Gentleman)
Mining Journal; Studio;
Oil & Colour Trade Journal; Connoisseur ;
The Builder; Colour;

Finally, we should be very grateful to the Swiss Legation if they would undertake the transmission of enclosed Letter to the "Committee for Distribution of Voluntary Gifts to P.,o.War Academic Students, Berlin", as we must presume that the commnication despatched by us on the 12.Sept. 1917, must have been lost.

Thanking you in anticipation for trouble taken on our behalf, we remain

Respectfully :

FOR The Technical Club Fritz Tobias, E. Konig.

ENC:

A: Copy of letter to Commandant, dated 18 August 1917 ,
B: Copy of letter British Prisoners of War Book Scheme Board of Education of 16. 0ctober 1917.
C: Letter to Committee for Distribution of Voluntary Gifts to P.o.War Students; for transmission.

BEILAGE A:

Kopie

Technical Club Aliens' Detention Camp, Douglas, Isle of Man, August 18th, 1917.

To the Commandant

Sir

Re periodicals for the Technical Club.

As kindly suggested by you in our to-day's interview, we beg to state our case regarding the above subject in writing herewith.

Shortly after the forming of this club of which you fully approved and to which you always gave your valuable assistance, we submit to you a list of certain periodicals (as per enclosure, asking for the permission to subscribe for them. This permission you very kindly gave verbally to Captain Schroeder and Mr. Tobias on December 15th, 1916, and we confirmed this in our letter dated December 17th, 1916. We now learn with great regret that all these technical and trade periodicals will be stopped in future, except 2 or 3 artistic papers. This decision comes as a grest disappointment to the members of our club, numbering nearly 200, since the reading of these papers has always formed an important asset in a the intellectusl occupation of so many men and the valuable means for the continustion of the studies of the younger stud ents. Without these papers a main attraction of our club will have gone and we shall no doubt lose the majority of our members. Besides wa shall suffer financially, since a number of the periodicals have already been paid for in advance for 6 months or so.

May we, in pleading our case, respect fully refer to the conditions prevailing in some of the camps in Germany. As it will be seen from the appended letter-copies the Ruhleben prisoners are allowed to receive even British technical papers regularly, and those at Doeberitz varied technical literature from England.

We further know from Dr. Markel that prisoners in Germany can get all the German technical and trade papers they desire, besides having such privileges as being permitted to immatriculate at German universities and to receive visits of German professors for lecturing purposes.

Under the circumstances we venture to hope that you will see your way to reconsider your decision as to the entire stoppage of the papers in question. By doing so we will not only earn the thanks of the numerous members of our club, whose aims you have always been fostering, but also greatly help in keeping up the spirits of so many men to whom mental occupation is of almost vital importance.

Should, however, the final decision not rest with you, we would thank you for the permission to approach our legal representatives and Dr. Markel in this matter

Thanking you in anticipation, we are,

Sir, yours respectfully,

TECHNICAL CLUB. for the Technical Section (Signed) F. TOBIAS for the Commerical Section (Signed) TH. ENGLEMANN.

Beilage B.

Kopie

letter addressed to The Commandant Aliens' Detention Camp Douglas, Isle of Man

British Prisoners of War - (BOOK-SCHEME), Educational,

Board of Education, Whitehall, S.W.

16th October 1917

Dear Sir

Herewith I enclose a letter addressed to me by one of the prisoners interned in your camp the reply to which (and I am sorry thst through extreme pressure of work it has been long delayed) I think should go through you.

Mr. Ritter's information respecting the forwarding by us of technical and trade papers to camps at Ruhleben is substantially correct. We have the sanction of the authorities for the forwarding of a considerable number of different journals of this character, both to the civilian camp there and to the military camps in the same country. Certain journals, however, were exempted from sanction or have to be withheld owing to their contents. We are careful not to send papers containing references to the war and the German censors of the camp even take exception to the questions or answers in examination papers which have any bearing on that subject.

As a general principle we are ready to forward for study purposes journals of the nature mentioned above and batches of such are sent off each week to Ruhleben and copies are sent with book parcels to prisoners pursuing studies in the subjects they deall with.

I will thank you to inform Mr. Ritter thar the reply to his letter has been sent to you.

I am, Yours faithfully, (Signed) ALFRED DAVIES.

(GERMAN DIVISION), 9, Carlton House Terrace, S.W. 1 London May 8th 1918.

SC 2593 SC

The Swiss Minister presents his compliments to His Britannic Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and with reference to his communication No. 1572/SC, of December 11th, 1917, transmitting a letter relative to technical periodicals, dated November 26th, 1917, addressed to this Legation by prisoners of war FRITZ TOBIAS, No. 3391, and E. KONIG, members of the "Technical Club", at Douglas Camp, Isle of Man, (a translation copy of which with certain enclosures is attached hereto), has the honour to inform Mr. Balfour that a further communication, concerning this subject, has been received from the members of the above mentioned Club. It is requested in the enclosed communication of November 26th, 1917, that the prisoners at this camp may be allowed to receive certain technical periodicals enumerated therein.

Monsieur Carlin will be happy to learn Mr. Balfour's opinion with regard to the request of the members of the "Technical Club", at Douglas relative to the periodicals in question.

War Office.

9th August,1918.

The Director of Military Intelligence presents his compliments to the Secretary, Prisoners of War Department and begs to refer to a letter of the 8th May from the Swiss Minister to Mr. Secretary Balfour on the subject of a request by the Technical Club at Douglas Prisoners of War Camp to receive certain technical periodicals. A copy of this letter is enclosed for convenience of reference. The question has been referred by the Home Department to the War Office and Major General Sir George Macdonogh begs to state that in view of the altered circumstances which have arisen since prisoners of war began to be repatriated to their respective countries, he is of opinion that it is undesirable that the prisoners should have access to periodicals which contain articles describing recent scientific progress, especially in relation to its industrial application. He would therefore be glad if Monsieur Carlin might be informed that the permission requested by the Technical Club cannot be granted.

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