The way to Russian captivity
On the 15th June, 1945, after a march of more than 300 kilometers, we hold before an earth bunker camp. Ten wooden huts, half in the earth sunk, with the windows which look from shafts, half-high wooden fool's wands on which 25 to 30 men sit bodkin - to us they appear after the past days and nights the summit of the comfort. No fence. Two machine guns, diagonally put up, substitute for him. Who may have lived earlier here? We do not find out it; in any case, no prisoners.
Now we also get to know the present head of the traffic, now commander of our camp: Second lieutenant, about 24, lean, ash blonde, 1.70 ms, Karelier. Roster as before. Three meals, in the kitchen beyond the street prepared and in kettles carried. Twice daily countable appeal.
After some days a deployment of labor, first and last here which transforms the meadow with Windau with her earth bunkers - maybe a lumberjack's camp once - into a prisoner's of war camp. There comes sting wire, and we get pine trunks to establish the fence. When we trot behind the loaded truck in the camp, two oncoming girls slip me a small package. Nobody has noted it. Also in the camp I make off of no fuss. The girls must have planned her doing and have prepared.
But to enter such a risk? Compassion with the enemy! The package contains a piece of simple cakes. Two Latvian words stand with pencil written on the wrapping paper: "Milais bralins" - dear brothers. Nobody can help us, but we are not only.
Also the life which we lead here in the camp Windau seems to mock to all predictions. During the third day I discover while strolling about behind one of the barracks a meeting which turns out English course! I fancy lieutenant-colonel Butler, and he takes up me in the course.
During the next days numerous other circles form. I visit a " botanical seminar " with regulation exercises. The leading biologist receives from the karelischen commander the permission to get a basket plants and flowers in the camp with his course participant. A forensic doctor holds the noteworthiest course of lectures: Suicide methods! He advises against drowning, describes the long death pangs and recommends - reasonably - Hang.
The Karelier allows to one of us to monitor Russian news in the awake bar and to read out with the counting. In Vienna Sanitätsstellen were furnished before where women queue to let examine on gender illnesses. Temporarily abortions should have been released.
To the Karelier becomes informations that guns should be in the camp. The suspicion is directed against a group of officers who belonged to a division stick and have brought through up to here her baggage. The severe Filzung brings to light two guns and a rice typewriter. Without bad results for us the things are drawn. The Karelier buys smaller things of personal property: Clocks, fountain-pens, magnifying glasses, little signal whistle etc. a curve measure stings to him in the eyes. The owner spends him as a "world clock"! In the rotary pointer one can read in the colored graduations the local time of the single earth zones. " What you are Germans, nevertheless, for people that you move with such a device in the war! "
One sells to the Starschij sergeant, the post leader, an old clock still to be drawn up with the key. Every other day the soldier comes again to him: " Urr broken! " The former owner promises to direct the clock, she gathers secretly and orders the Starschij for the next day. He comes with half a reveille bread, and is contented for for a while.
A nice summer. Should it be right that our Karelier, the opportunity gives to occupy us with spiritual things which rumor kitchen has as psychological leadership means not inevitably? Here there are no slogans.
One day he leads us to the close Windau to bath! Up to the border beam we may swim. Delightfully! A feeling of the freedom. Outdoors in the beam I come with a bearded companion to the conversation. Surprised we find out that we both are Viennese; so much we have stopped with the troop unit the dialect. Even more we are astonished that we both have played Werner Taschner in the congregational orchestra Präses', I the first violin in the seventh writing desk and he - is Erich Phummer, the cellist! How, nevertheless, the world is small! In evening conversations native country and youth arises.
Surprise! Captain Hutterich has put together in petto a "treasure caste". Under his management a choir sings folk songs. Of sketch are played, I recite the "leather trousers ballad", " the miracle effect of the Latinität " and " the old lansquenets in heaven " from Muenchhausen, one reads out from an ancient encyclopedia of 1830 screwed articles, and when the dusk about the Windauwiesen falls, one sings behind the scenery tarpaulin with soft, warm voice " native country, your stars... " Some cries. I also...
But we also have hunger. From ammunition boxes we build blow traps. Six young sparrows prove a soup with grease drops! But the birds have soon become clever. chickweed, Announcing prove partly salad, partly soup insert.
To see clearly behind the sting wire, nevertheless, sky-far, the inaccessible world lies. A tantalizing feeling that to us only 1 meter, admittedly, from the high sting wire fence takes from the freedom distinguishes. In the north stretches the green width, meadows, pasture, bushes and a sky which is getting light at midnight still dämmerig, two hours later again. In the south, some hundred meters away, pinewood gets dark. And houses can not far be; I think of both girls. If I imagine that I could overcome every distance with healthy feet that I would have to go step by step, 3-millions to come home ... it is to become crazy. One treats us as if we had to lose no time as if the time stands still for us as if it is not a matter of learning an occupation, of making up for a life, of reaching a purpose. And they at home? How may it go for them? Frightened, hunted, violates, starving, around the morning being worried? To the thinking they come absolutely less than us.
Rumor: We are registered. The next day a table is put in the meadow, an officer with blue cap puts 46 questions and is quoted what the clumsy interpreter translates. Personnel data, patronymic name, school education, social origin of the parents, own social layer, military career, use, applications, affiliation to the Nazi party. With me the officer simply writes "Nazi". I was before indenting with the Hitler's youth. He shakes the head: " Nobody was present, only a few Nazis! " The NKWD officer stares at me, then he goes on shaking the head. Before we march off to the railway station, again a frisk. Again a gun is found.
Sit bodkin in the cattle cars which bars window narrowly about where it goes. To the east, we recognize. This presses the mood. In a gate waits a column of prisoners of war. " Riga! " they call to us, wave and laugh. The posts grin, no signs of bad treatment.
After the unloading ours is called more presently German camp leader, a tree-long colonel, to the Russian transport leader. The colonel is held responsible for flawless marsh discipline! However, we line up, too fifth, number off, the colonel announces with head idiom to the Russian officer, and then we march in the marching in step by Riga! So that not enough which requires to soot that is sung. Thus we sing " the blue Dragoons " and " a cent and a clod ", also the "Westerwald" and " It there tremble the rotten bones "! The passers-by go along on the sidewalk, the children gather beside here, we tear ourselves, and it is as if we had lost no war! From the windows there fly cigarettes and flowers, hands wave, wave... Who would have thought this! The convoys do not agree at all enough. " Dawai, Fritz! Pietj! Sing! "
The main warehouse Riga accommodates indeed thousand prisoners, maybe even more. During the handing over negotiations we stand outside in the ankle-deep sand. Far and wide no shade. There lasts one hour, second one. The posts let us not put down, the thirst becomes tantalizing. Of fully sombre notion I fiddle around, very without moving, the small chain with the golden Aries of the neck and keep it in the fist. Silver Five Lat pieces which Mrs. Christmann, my accommodation woman, has given me. At that time when we said goodbye at midnight, I have sewed it still in Windau in sports trousers. I cut them of the Plache of an air force truck which I found during the long march to Windau in the wayside. The Plache serves me since that time as a sleeping-bag. I carry the stiff sports trousers on the body. When the garrison rushes at us and begins a barbarian a frisk, it is too late for many to hide something.
Still there are guns! Two poor devils - or fools - are knocked together and led away. The fool's wands, welded together of concrete iron, 3-storied, reach under the cover. The separation of the Austrians from the German happened so fast that I could not say goodbye to the companions of our regimental stick with which I was till present together. I contort on a middle fool's wand and wait, until the whirl has lain down. When the old people to us sniff at "new", I notice that in the barrack only Austrian officers were folded up.
While starting to the counting we see first how strong the staff is. The Germans put the biggest contingent; the second largest with which we start new, the Austrians. But there is still Hungary, Rumanians, Czechs, this are Sudeten-German, and French! The small heap exists of Natives of Alsace. And everything carries the national colors of her homelands in the cap. The commands for lining up and to the announcement to the Russian camp commander become in the national language, with the Natives of Alsace into French; with the Sudeten-German into Czech given.
Before the Russians count, greets us a small Oberplennij whose uniform blouse is to be looked that he was an officer. He fancies as Dr. Sowieso from Graz; it is Antifaleiter. It mißfalle to him that we carry partly still shoulder pieces and officer's mirrors, but none red-white-red cockade on the cap have.
We new are divided into groups to ten men. We choose a bread tailor and sugar scoop and one which should represent our group. Thus one or other friend among the old people has initiated us into the camp life.
In the evening - the summer, 1945 gives a nice day to us luckily after the other - we crouch in the lukewarm air around the barrack ask present going out, presume about the next future, think in at home. Beside the camp stands a small orthodox church with several onion towers and onion turrets. Instead of the bells fitted chilled iron hang in the curve openings of a wall beside the church. Who hits them, we cannot see, no evening peal is hurried to the peaceful end of work, rather an ing-a-ling, and is tormented, foreign.
Every morning there march working commands, "brigades" called, from the camp. Officers do not work. Own officer's catering, with which it a little bit more fat, more sugar and instead of gehäckselter tobacco stalks - "Machorka" - some cigarettes with oral piece "Papirossi" - is also given on them. This advantage, with the German armed forces unknown, creates in no time a tense, irritated mood against the officers. The "anti-fa", in Windau unknown, this anti-fascist committee does his, to distinguish and to isolate.
Approach to the exit of the barrack a first lieutenant with very swollen legs sits on top on the fool's wand! Dr. Sexton is a Viennese, lawyer and judge, nine years older as me. Conversation establishing point during these days, because everybody in dream and thought on the native country, the prewar time, because the world was still healthy, hangs, my holidays stay in Gresten nearby Scheibbs, a neighbouring municipality of Ybbsitz where Dr. Sexton has woman and children.
Nobody anticipates that we will experience almost the longest time of the captivity together, up to homecoming.
Antifa conference. The Americans have thrown down an atom bomb on Hiroshima! 200,000 dead people. Even behind sting wire the news causes paralyzing terror. We have completely forgotten that the Japanese still fought. Darkly we anticipate that this apocalyptic drum beat finishes not only the war, but an era initiates in which not hope, but fear will fulfil the world. The thought, the American could have selected itself as an experimental field Germany, lets us feel like the rider over Lake of Constance.
From the discussion offered by the anti-fa nothing becomes. We cannot divide the cheering of the small Grazer of doctor. 200,000 on a prank! One says, the Germans would have already suffered her Hiroshima in February, as an Englishman and American extinguished Dresden, the Elbflorenz, crowded with refugees... One more cheering announcement: Today, 8th August the Soviet Union, two days after Hiroshima, Japan explains the war! And takes Manchuria. A million Japanese prisoners of war, work slave for the Russians if that is no coup! And one more atom bomb, even more efficiently, this time on Nagasaki! Woe to the defeated person!
But there is defender. The activists around the Grazer doctor challenge to the discussion, also in our barrack reproaches with us a Jew killed the 6 millions. Our people seem able in the valiant like in the criminal of huge achievements. "
The court of the winners will be dreadful! " But has the winner been good for the judge?