[From TNA FO 383/276]]

Knockaloe - Barbed Wire Psychosis

26. May, 1917.

Dear Mr. Waller,
I hope you will allow me to bring to your notice a few points which particularly struck me on the occasion of my last visit to the Isle of Man.

They refer chiefly to the Camp at Knockaloe. I found the mentality of the prisoners rather depressed, a state of mind which I attribute to the long duration of the war, to the enormous site of this Camp, to the reduced rations, and to the presence of a great number of sick and old people in the Camp.

The long duration of internment produces in many of the inmates a certain psychosis which the mental specialists, term as "barbed wire psychosis". This is characterised by a gradual loss of memory, irritability and a continuous concentration of the mind upon certain aspects of camp conditions, and it is very probable that this barbed wire psychosis will leave its traces on the men for the rest of their lives. It is the same in Prisoner of War Camps all over Europe, and our mental specialists have ample opportunity to study it amongst the prisoners interned in Switzerland. I would suggest an expert investigation to be held by mental specialists, say by neutral medical commission, who could possibly give some advice in this rather serious matter.

When one takes into consideration the state of mind of the prisoners it is a most noticeable fact that I heard no complaints against the Commandant, Colonel Panzera, or against one of the Sub-Commandants. Colonel Panzera is much appreciated, and I was greatly struck by his remarkable personality.

The uniformity of the 23 self-contained compounds, the complete separation of one camp from the other, and the great difficulty for the prisoners to circulate in their camp from one compound to another, are great drawbacks. Proper efforts on the part of the prisoners to organise themselves are, on this account, somewhat impeded. I quite admit that passes are fairly freely given for prisoners to go into another compound, but freedom of circulation would be quite a different thing. This also applies to the fact that the prisoners may not freely go to their recreation fields. They have to wait until at a certain hour an escort comes to conduct them to the fields, where they are allowed to remain for two hours each day. I may add that is marching to the recreation fields, the prisoners never leave the boundaries of the Camp. By this arrangement the prisoners are always surrounded by bayonets, and the fact that they are imprisoned is thus constantly impressed upon them.

All these facts form the psychological explanation of their mentally depressed condition.

The greatly reduced rations are badly felt by the inmates, but even more the impossibility of buying some additional food stuffs at the Camp Canteen. As regards the details of the Canteen, I have supplied Mr. Montefiore with a special memorandum. The great restrictions placed by the Isle of Man Government upon food parcels, makes it very difficult indeed for prisoners of war to obtain any food stuffs from the Mainland. It is well-known that your prisoners in Ruhleben are practically fed by parcels from their relatives and friends in this country, but the German civilian prisoners interned here have in the majority all their relatives and friends is England, and are therefore unable to get parcels from Germany. Also a good many have been living in the German Colonies, or are destitute.

The reduced rations will no doubt be responsible for an increase of tuberculosis. Already the Isolation Hospital is filled up with consumptive cases. In the different camp hospitals I saw several cases awaiting admission to the Isolation Hospital, and others who were suffering from early phthisis were attending the out-patients department; I have no doubt that amongst the out-patients the number of tubercular cases is not small.

This fact is easy to explain, as in a civilian camp there are men between the ages of 16 and 64 years, who are in all sorts of different conditions of health. In this respect a civilian camp is quite different from a military camp, where the prisoners, as regards health, are more or less a selected lot. The presence of tuberculous people in the camp is a source of great danger to the other inmates. May I suggest that a thorough expert examination should be made of all doubtful cases in the camp (the diagnosis of early tuberculosis is not easy) , and that the segregation of all tuberculous men from the others in a place where they could obtain additional food, should be arranged. Under the present scale of rations a case of early tuberculosis, of which, for example, one of the first signs is anaemia, has no chance to recover. For this reason I should like to ask if it would not be possible to remove all severe cases from the Isolation Hospital to an ordinary hospital, as it seems to me rather hard for the prisoners to pass their last days is a camp hospital, where comforts are few and the nursing limited, but of course the the first point is the investigation of all tuberculous prisoners, and the segregation of selected cases.

Another point I should like to bring to your notice is that chiefly in Camp IV, but also in the other camps, there is a great number of boys between the ages of 16 and 20 years. They are exposed to moral dangers which are clearly understood when one takes into account the mixed composition of the inmates of Knockaloe. Some additional rations should also be granted to them, as growing men require more food than others. Would it not be feasible to collect all boys up to the age of 20, inclusive, together, and put there under the captainship of some selected man of good education and character, such as a missionary or pastor of which there are some in the Camp. This captain would then be able to look after their education and occupation, which would certainly be a great improvement. I would add that. some of these boys will soon enter their fourth year of internment.

A most depressing factor is the total stoppage of repatriation not only for the prisoners of war already chosen for it, but also for the other inmates of the camp. For the old men internment means a very great hardship; not only on account of the camp life, but also because of the fact t:hat they must live in close contact with men of all ages and classes. Would it not be possible to reconsider the release of men over a certain age limit, say 50 or 55? It seems to me that something ought to be done for the old prisoners if repatriation is not likely to be resumed, Another course would be to collect the decrepit prisoners over the age of 45 to some workhouse or such institution.

It is my experience in the prisoner question that the lot of civilian prisoners is much more pitiable than that of the military prisoners for whom internment means the fortune of war. For this reason I take a special interest in these men, and am venturing to recommend my suggestion for your kind consideration.
Yours sincerely
A. J. Vischer

Any comments, errors or omissions gratefully received The Editor HTML Transcription © F.Coakley , 2019