Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 February 1916 — FOES START SCHOOL [ARTICLE]

FOES START SCHOOL

German Soldiers Teach Children in Poland. Lieutenant Hellwig Writes of Interesting Experience—Remarkable Progress Made by Pupils After Discipline Is Established. Berlin—Lieutenant Hellwig, who was a schoolteacher in Nassau before the war broke out, writes to the Allgemeines Schulblatt, an educational monthly published at Wiesbaden : ' _ "We are stationed in a small town east of Warsaw and have very little to do, as we are far behind our front. Recently I received orders to organize a school for the children of the town. After several conferences with the local authorities I started my work, using the vacant residence of a wealthy lumber dealer who had fled to the interior of Russia for a schoolhouse. In a storage house I found a number of benches, which formerly had done duty in a Jewish private school, and I also procured a blackboard and a few other necessary things. -- - -- —— "The children of the town, most of whom never had been inside of a schoolhouse, were notified by the police that they would have to present themselves for instruction. About two hundred boys and girls between the ages of six and fourteen years appeared and they were a sorry looking lot. "With dirty faces and unkempt hair the boys noisily rushed into my improvised hall of learning. Most of them wore fur caps that had been left behind by Cossacks and their principal garments were large fur coats. “Although the ground was frozen many of the boys wore no shoes, while the footwear of the pthers consisted of old knee boots that once belonged to father or mother. "The girls, at least a few of them, were not quite so dirty. Some even had combed their hair, but their dress consisted of all kinds of old, cast-off garments of adults and only a few wore stockings. Only the Jewish girls were really tidy and their intelligent faces and neat appearance distinguished them favorably from the rest of the crowd. . <r "It was almost impossible to keep the children quiet, but I finally succeeded in getting their attention and s t art ed to divide them into classes with the aid of a sergeant who speaks Polish. Most of the Jewish children understood at least some German and I organized them into a special class which lam instructing myself. About forty Polish and Russian boys and girls who have received some instruction in private schools were taken in charge by Lieutenant Harbeck, who is trying to educate them with the help of our Polish-speaking sergeant. “The rest of the children, about one hundred, were turned over to a t’olish woman teacher who has been engaged

by us. These youngsters have practically grown up wild and they can only be given kindergarten Instruction at present, although many of them are twelve and fourteen years old. In a few months, after a little discipline has been drilled Into them, we will teach them to read and write. With the results obtained’ so far I am more than satisfied. The Jewish children are model pupils and make astonishing progress. Many of the Polish and Russian boys are alfio beginning to show great interest in their studies and they are now learning to keep themselves clean. Not one of them comes to school unwashed or unkempt, and all are very much attached to their teacher. By next summer I hope to have an excellent school if-I am not ordered to the front again.”