The Kingdom of serbia : report upon the atrocities committed by the Austro-Hungarian Army during the first invasion of Serbia

TREATMENT OF PRISONERS 191

the police at Skopl/je. This incident actually took place, but the explanation is already contained in the evidence of the witnesses. It was an outburst of excitement after the massacres of Shabatz, and moreover directed against men who, perhaps, had nothing to do with it, but who belonged to the enemy who had done so much evil. Still, T think it would be as well to see that such man-handling episodes do not recur, for the beauty of the part played by Serbia in this war consists precisely in this, that she has indulged in no reprisals towards the Austro-Hungarians who have committed atrocities without name or number.

I know that the maintenance of so many prisoners of war is a heavy tax upon your country, and that it is a difficult matter to house them. Your military authorities are doing their utmost to make life as endurable as possible for these prisoners. I have frequently met Colonel Ilitch, and I know that this excellent man has done almost more than possible for the captured soldiers of the enemy. He made it a point of honour to treat them like Serbian soldiers. The Austrian Lieutenant F. S. said to me: “Colonel Ilitch is like a father to us.” Obviously your resources are only limited, and the sheds in which you are obliged to house these men cannot be easily heated. It is inevitable that some of them should suffer, but this occurs even in countries which are far less sorely tried than yours. These countries cannot make the irrefutable excuse which you have every right to quote : the “impossibility of doing better.” The lot of a prisoner of war is never an enviable one, and judging by what