The horrors of Wittenberg : Official report to the British government
"The horrors of Wittenberg by Baron Robert Younger Blanesburgh et al.." is an official government report and historical account written during World War I. It examines the typhus epidemic and the treatment of Allied prisoners at the Wittenberg prisoner-of-war camp, concluding that German neglect and cruelty led to catastrophic suffering. Drawing on testimony from repatriated prisoners and three British medical officers, the report depicts extreme overcrowding, bitter cold, hunger, vermin infestations, and
the enforced mixing of nationalities that helped spread typhus. When the epidemic broke out, the German military and medical staff abandoned the camp, communicating only from outside the wire and pushing supplies over chutes, while British doctors—detained in Germany—were sent in to take over; several died from the disease they tried to fight. The surviving officers reorganized care, isolated cases, and gradually secured milk, bedding, and disinfection, aided by courageous volunteer orderlies, many of whom also died. The report details a severe shortage of drugs, dressings, soap, and warm clothing, widespread bedsores and post-typhus gangrene, jeering from local townspeople at burials, and the award of an Iron Cross to the German camp doctor who had avoided contact. It notes about 15,000–17,000 prisoners in the camp, roughly 250–300 British typhus cases with around 60 deaths, and improvements arriving only after external inspections, by which time the epidemic had waned. The Committee places responsibility squarely on the German authorities, while commending the gallantry of the British medical officers and volunteer orderlies. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Blanesburgh, Robert Younger, Baron, 1861-1946 |
|---|---|
| Creator | Great Britain. Government Committee on Treatment by the Enemy of British Prisoners of War |
| Title | The horrors of Wittenberg : Official report to the British government |
| Original Publication | London: C. Arthur Pearson, Litmited, 1916. |
| Credits | Bob Taylor, Brian Coe and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | D501: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: World War I (1914-1918) |
| Subject | World War, 1914-1918 -- Prisoners and prisons |
| Subject | World War, 1914-1918 -- Medical and sanitary affairs |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 78203 |
| Release Date | Mar 14, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 179 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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