Over 40 witnesses were called by the prosecution and defence. The court martial heard accounts of physical abuse from a number of prisoners, some of whom sustained serious physical injuries such as frostbite. One of the former interrogators at Bad Nenndorf testified that some of the Army warders at the camp were themselves ex-convicts. For his part, Smith denied any responsibility for the abuse, and described the camp as a "bestial hole" which was "full of people who, unknown to him, were being brutally treated". He testified that he had been sent one prisoner who was suffering from meningitis, but had been unable to obtain an ambulance to transport him to hospital.