Monday, July 26, 2010

Leysin after Endicott: Internment During WWI and II

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Photos (top to bottom): photos 1-4: primary source references to internment during WWI in Switzerland (sources: 1 2 3 4); photos 5-12: Leysin cemetery, monuments for soldiers interned during WWI and II; photos 13-16: details at Leysin cemetery; photo17: a little Americana: streaming the Colbert Report at Au BelAir Hotel, Leysin; photo18: full moon; photo 19: Hotel Au BelAir; photo20: cable car lift, adjacent to the B&B.

I visited the Leysin cemetery today, at the suggestion of Leysin American School founder, Dr. Stephen Ott. Where better to explore the history of a place than its cemetery? It is true of Leysin, where I discovered the history of the internment of soldiers with tuberculosis in neutral Switzerland during WWI and II:

The prominent monument in photo 5 (front) and 8 (rear) bears three plates, translated as follows (referring in part to the plots shown in photo10):

photo7: 1916 - 1919: This monument was erected in the memory of 2 officers, 5 junior officers, & 83 soldiers from France; 1 officer, 2 junior officers, and 14 soldiers from England; and 10 soldiers from Belgium, died in Leysin on the way back from captivity in Germany, where they rest in peace in this friendly land.

photo6: The Swiss hospitals received & treated 4240 prisoners with war injuries – French, English and Belgian, from January 1916 to May 1919.

photo9: The ossuary constructed below this monument contains 63 bodies of interned French who died in Leysin, inaugurated on June 26th, 1937.

Another prominent monument bears a plate (photo11) that translates from the Polish & French: In memory of the soldiers of the 2nd Division of Poland interned during the second world war in Switzerland and died in Leysin.

The history behind these monuments and grave sites refers to the agreement made between Switzerland and Germany to transfer prisoners-of-war with tuberculosis to Switzerland for treatment.

Note the following excerpts from The British Interned in Switzerland, written in 1919 by a Lieut.-Colonel H.P. Picot, with references to Leysin:

In giving the following pages to the public, I do so in the hope that a plain statement of the life and activities of British soldiers whilst interned in Switzerland may prove of interest to those at home who have shown in so many and diverse ways their concern for the welfare of their countrymen whilst Prisoners of War in Germany, and, later, during the period of their internment in Switzerland. I have specially dwelt upon the fruitful initiative taken by the Swiss Government in the negotiations which preceded the acceptance by the belligerent States of the principle of internment. I have also endeavoured to show — I fear very inadequately — with what whole-heartedness the Prisoners of War were welcomed in their midst by all classes of the population ; and with what devotion the Medical Department of the Swiss Army, to whose officers the organization of the camps and the care of the sick were delegated, set about its task.

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With regard to the status of Prisoners of War in Switzerland, it should be borne in mind that the Interned were under the guardianship of the Swiss Government, who undertook all responsibility for their care, discipline, and medical treatment. A special officer, or diplomat, (as in the case of France and Germany), nominated by each of the belligerent States, was attached to his Embassy or Legation with a view to his collaboration with the Swiss political and military authorities in respect of all matters affecting the welfare of his interned countrymen, the more delicate international questions arising out of the internment being dealt with by the Chiefs of the Diplomatic Missions accredited to Switzerland.

I have said elsewhere, and perhaps I may be permitted a repetition, that the sense of a possible all-world-brotherhood had one of its happiest demonstrations in the attitude of the Swiss people towards the unfortunate sufferers of the war.

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Immediately after breakfast, the men for Leysin, all of whom were supposed to be tuberculous, and amongst whom were some serious cases, were despatched to that destination in charge of Swiss doctors ; the rest, for Chateau d'Oex, were divided into groups, and sent up in a succession of trains by the mountain railway.

Many of the Leysin patients had been sent out of Germany by the Itinerant Commissions on the mere suspicion of tuberculosis, and these men failed to understand that their condition could be in any way dangerous. The restrictions imposed as regards smoking, drinking, and exercise, the lying out in the open in a recumbent attitude, exposed to sun and air for six to eight hours per diem, and the general want of freedom thereby involved, proved extremely trying to them, and they were, I am afraid, often a thorn in the side of the medical officers. On one occasion they persuaded the doctors to give them permission to play a friendly game of football with other enthusiasts of the camp, with results disastrous to certain of their number, who realized, perhaps for the first time, that unusual strain could only lead to hemorrhage or other evils of a cognate nature.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Leysin after Endicott: Hike to Tour d'Ai 1

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Photos (top to bottom): photo1: map showing Leysin and surrounding peaks, including the telecabin (gondola) running from Leyson to the Berneuse Restaurant, and Tour d'Ai; photo2: from gondola into drizzly weather; photo3: Tour d'Ai; photo4: note Lake Geneva in the background; photo5: metal railing and ladder installed to assist hikers at steep section of trail to Ai summit; photo6: narrow trail with exposure obscured by clouds; photos 7-9: from a ridgeline trail on the summit of Ai.

After several rainy/drizzly days here in Leysin, the forecast predicted pleasant weather for today. I had it in mind to take the gondola up, and explore the hiking trail to Tour d'Ai.

The most prominent peaks immediately above Leysin are Tour d'Ai and Tour Mayen, the summits of which are accessible by hiking trail. The Ai is the higher of the two, though only by a few meters. From the gondola, the exposed vertical flanks of Ai is very impressive, and I imagined that the view from the top would be impressive.

I didn't bring hiking boots, but I do have a pair of Keen's, which have a fairly rugged sole, so I thought, good enough, I'll go slow, take my take, a step at a time.

I met a group on my way down. They were contemplating their options, as I had at about the same spot, when fatigue really began setting in, the trail ahead looked steep, and I considered bailing. I suggested they go on, it was worth it. After an hour of steep, muddy, talus, slippery hiking, the trail above assumed a new personality: narrow, exposed, clearly ascending toward the peak, much more fun.

Of course, the best part of the hike is the nap that follows, all the better in a featherbed, in a Swiss B&B.




Leysin after Endicott: Hike to Tour d'Ai 2

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Photos (top to bottom): photos 1-3: from the summit of Ai; photos 4-5: climbers (via ferrata) arrive on the summit; photos 6-10: descending trail; photo11: Tour d'Ai (left) and Tour d'Mayen (right); photo12: along a trail descending into Leysin, with the gondola and Restaurant Berneuse in the background; photo13: hang glider.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Endicott @ LAS 2

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Photos (top to bottom): photo1: a group from my cohort conference in the Grand Ballroom; photo2: Erika fields questions after her innovative practice presentation; photos 3-4: sunset after an afternoon of rain from the deck outside my 4th floor dorm room; photos 5-6: group photos on the final afternoon after an intense month of study; photo7: Dean Rick P. coaches the new graduates prior to commencement; photo8: Illse, from South Africa, was chosen by her graduating cohort to deliver a speech during commencement; photo9: the ceremonial turning of the tassels; photos 10-11: graduates pose and toss their caps; photo12: alpenhorns supply entertainment; photo13: Mike Dvorak & Devon Sigman, having completed their course of study with Endicott, head off to Vermont for their wedding, in advance of a year of international travel.

It is Friday night, and my second week of instruction with Endicott has come to a close, or nearly so, with about three hours of reading and responding yet to finish in the morning.

As last week in Prague, this was a very enjoyable and stimulating week. I am pleased to see it end, for the intensity of work involved, and what has amounted to 15 hour work days; and I will miss the contact with this group of sixteen thoughtful international educators.

Fortunately, I have three days to relax, decompress and wander the mountain trails around Leysin, in advance of a flight back to London, and a return to Dakar next Wednesday. It is a summer of dramatic transitions: Monterey, London, Dorset, Prague, Leysin, London, Dakar, Casamance, and home.