Page:Diary of a Prisoner in World War I by Josef Šrámek.pdf/46

 boys steal calves, turkeys, etc. all about. The Arnauts shoot at them with guns.

About 15 sick Austrian officers arrived in the evening. In total more than 600 officers passed through here today. They were torn, tired, and hungry, and there were even oberleutnants  among them. The road is always busy. Thousands and thousands of prisoners pass every day. They are barefoot and look more like Gypsies. They beg and steal, and all of them look ahead—toward the sea and liberation. Unfortunately hundreds and hundreds of them drop down due of hunger, fatigue, and sickness. Once in 3 days, we get soup with ''zwiebackem. '' Usually the men storm the kettles, and one needs a stick to maintain some order.

The commander arrived with his brother yesterday, and they spread fear. Four Hungarians sold their shovels in Elbasan and were denounced, and now he was punishing them. He had them tied to a tree for 3 hours till they fainted from pain. Then he sat them at a table and talked to them while having someone play a violin for him. The next day he had them tied again and watched the torture.

'''Three prisoners ran away from their unit, were led back, and had to dig a grave for themselves. '''He commanded soldiers to shoot