ng manner generously assisted your work
of love, we, the undersigned, respectfully offer our heartfelt
wishes for the New Year.
P. H. Bernhard, Chairman; Carl Glock, Deputy Chairman; C. P.
Toellner, Treasurer; B. Pflug, Hospital.
And here we have an extract from a letter of gratitude from some Serbian
prisoners to one of the German Committees. It was despatched by the
Serbian Aid Committee at the camp Frankfurt-am-Oder, on February 22,
1917. "The hundred or so parcels for Serbian Prisoners of War mentioned
in your kind letter of December 20, 1916, came to hand in good time and
in good condition from Switzerland, and were distributed to those who
were in the weakest condition, and those who were most needy. In all
there were 94 parcels, and you have the blessing of 94 human beings,
ill, weak, and altogether deserted by the world. As our former camp
(Halbe b. Berlin) was broken up just at that time and distributed
amongst four other camps, we have only just learned who it was who had
given us such kindly and noble thoughts. We thank you therefore once
more with our whole heart for your great goodness and charity--God will
repay it to you.
"The gifts (the many good and beautiful things) reached us here in good
time, and were divided amongst Serbians who [were in various camps] and
the remainder we distributed here on Christmas Eve in the camp. You
should have seen the joy of these poor men!... May God only grant a
speedy peace!... While thanking you heartily once again, we beg you to
think of us in the future also.... P.S.--In all the camps belonging to
our group we have a total of 30-40 sick men."
"JOINING HANDS WITH THE ENEMY."
The spirit produced by reprisals of good is well shown in the following
extracts from an article in _The Friend_. (April 20, 1917):--
There have been fresh evidences lately of the response from
Germany to our efforts here, and of the likeness between our
work and that of the Berlin Committee. The animating spirit is
evidently so much the same that a wife left behind in England
wrote to her repatriated husband in Germany, "Just write your
letter and send it to _St. Stephen's House_ at Berlin, and
they'll send it for you." The italics are ours.
Dr. Rotten wrote March 8:
"Just a few lines to tell you that a second parcel from Berne
arrived to-day, containing the remainder of the reports about
your work, namely, 25 copies
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