The first Russian word I learned was davay , faster. I remember it, because it was beaten into me with rifle butts. Comrades, there are two colors I have come to hate. The NKVD soldier’s green and the black of the SS guard.’
The Old Man nodded, removed the pipe from his mouth and puffed out a cloud of smoke.
‘Gerhard, friend, we understand you. A fur cap with a green cross can give us the shivers, too.’
The Old Man leaned back in his chair, put his feet on the table, closed his eyes and went on smoking in silence.
Stief continued: ‘At Boritsov we were supposed to procure food for ourselves. There was plenty of fish in the river running through camp.’
‘Where’s Boritsov?’ Stege asked.
‘Boritsov is far east, almost where the sun rises, in China.’ Gerhard thought a moment and passed his fingers through his tousled beard. ‘It is in China. A small wretched Soviet Republic.’
‘If there was enough food it couldn’t have been so bad,’ Brandt said. He took a big bite from a salami sausage.
Stief gave him a long look. He took a deep swig from the bottle of schnapps.
‘So, that’s what you think? Are you familiar with the red fish?’
The little Legionnaire leaned forward on the table and looked intensely at Stief.
‘The ones that give you worms?’
‘Yes, those that give you liver worms.’
The Legionnaire gave a long and pointed whistle.
‘They are damned sophisticated over there in Boritsov. So, you have liver worms, Lieutenant?’
Stief nodded. ‘Yes, and it hurts. You’re eaten up slowly from the inside. Those pills you get just prolong the pain.
‘After those red fish we got to the salt mines in Yazlanov. You know, those large salt wastes further down in Asia. From there we were sent to the Urals, to the locomotive works in Matrosov. Suddenly one day all the Germans, Austrians, Czechs, Poles and many more of Hitler’s children were assembled and sent to the distribution prison in Gorki. After a few days halt the westward journey continued. In Lvov we had the greatest surprise of our lives. There the SS and the NKVD had arranged a first-class barter in men. With yells and derisive laughter all of us from the East were handed over to the SS and all from the West to the NKVD. My friends, have you ever had the experience of sitting on your haunches for hours at a stretch?’
He took a cigarette Brandt flipped to him. He sucked the smoke deep down into his lungs. You could see how he enjoyed it. He closed his eyes a moment, then continued.
‘Have you been packed together in steel cars so tightly that half the car got suffocated? Have you experienced how soft a corpse is when you’ve stood on top of it for hours? This is the modern method of conveying living meat.’
We nodded. We were familiar with it, and we knew Dr Gerhard Stief from Hamburg, ex-Lieutenant of the infantry, didn’t exaggerate. Torgau – oh, yes, we were familiar with it. Lengries, Fort Plive. We, too, had experienced the educational methods of dictatorship.
Stief drank again. We all drank.
‘Hell!’ he cried. ‘I had the Iron Cross from 1914 and the Hohenzollern family order. An SS Hauptsturmführer grinned at me and said I could wipe my behind on Kaiser Wilhelm’s crap. Despite the fact that he wore both orders himself.’
‘He must’ve been an ass,’ the Old Man remarked.
‘Of course he was,’ the Legionnaire said. ‘Or he wouldn’t be in the SS.’
‘Before I came to the Baukommando I spent a long time in Stutthof and Majdanek,’ the old Jew went on. ‘And now I’m here with you.’
‘Did they treat you badly in Majdanek?’ Krause asked, as if he didn’t know.
‘They’re cruel in Majdanek. They are in most camps and prisons.’
‘Aren’t they the worst in the Soviet Union?’ the former SS man wanted to know.
‘Not really. Actually, the same kind of people are guards and prisoners in both places. In Camp 487 in the Urals we got balanda , prison camp soup. The same kind that
The Old Man nodded, removed the pipe from his mouth and puffed out a cloud of smoke.
‘Gerhard, friend, we understand you. A fur cap with a green cross can give us the shivers, too.’
The Old Man leaned back in his chair, put his feet on the table, closed his eyes and went on smoking in silence.
Stief continued: ‘At Boritsov we were supposed to procure food for ourselves. There was plenty of fish in the river running through camp.’
‘Where’s Boritsov?’ Stege asked.
‘Boritsov is far east, almost where the sun rises, in China.’ Gerhard thought a moment and passed his fingers through his tousled beard. ‘It is in China. A small wretched Soviet Republic.’
‘If there was enough food it couldn’t have been so bad,’ Brandt said. He took a big bite from a salami sausage.
Stief gave him a long look. He took a deep swig from the bottle of schnapps.
‘So, that’s what you think? Are you familiar with the red fish?’
The little Legionnaire leaned forward on the table and looked intensely at Stief.
‘The ones that give you worms?’
‘Yes, those that give you liver worms.’
The Legionnaire gave a long and pointed whistle.
‘They are damned sophisticated over there in Boritsov. So, you have liver worms, Lieutenant?’
Stief nodded. ‘Yes, and it hurts. You’re eaten up slowly from the inside. Those pills you get just prolong the pain.
‘After those red fish we got to the salt mines in Yazlanov. You know, those large salt wastes further down in Asia. From there we were sent to the Urals, to the locomotive works in Matrosov. Suddenly one day all the Germans, Austrians, Czechs, Poles and many more of Hitler’s children were assembled and sent to the distribution prison in Gorki. After a few days halt the westward journey continued. In Lvov we had the greatest surprise of our lives. There the SS and the NKVD had arranged a first-class barter in men. With yells and derisive laughter all of us from the East were handed over to the SS and all from the West to the NKVD. My friends, have you ever had the experience of sitting on your haunches for hours at a stretch?’
He took a cigarette Brandt flipped to him. He sucked the smoke deep down into his lungs. You could see how he enjoyed it. He closed his eyes a moment, then continued.
‘Have you been packed together in steel cars so tightly that half the car got suffocated? Have you experienced how soft a corpse is when you’ve stood on top of it for hours? This is the modern method of conveying living meat.’
We nodded. We were familiar with it, and we knew Dr Gerhard Stief from Hamburg, ex-Lieutenant of the infantry, didn’t exaggerate. Torgau – oh, yes, we were familiar with it. Lengries, Fort Plive. We, too, had experienced the educational methods of dictatorship.
Stief drank again. We all drank.
‘Hell!’ he cried. ‘I had the Iron Cross from 1914 and the Hohenzollern family order. An SS Hauptsturmführer grinned at me and said I could wipe my behind on Kaiser Wilhelm’s crap. Despite the fact that he wore both orders himself.’
‘He must’ve been an ass,’ the Old Man remarked.
‘Of course he was,’ the Legionnaire said. ‘Or he wouldn’t be in the SS.’
‘Before I came to the Baukommando I spent a long time in Stutthof and Majdanek,’ the old Jew went on. ‘And now I’m here with you.’
‘Did they treat you badly in Majdanek?’ Krause asked, as if he didn’t know.
‘They’re cruel in Majdanek. They are in most camps and prisons.’
‘Aren’t they the worst in the Soviet Union?’ the former SS man wanted to know.
‘Not really. Actually, the same kind of people are guards and prisoners in both places. In Camp 487 in the Urals we got balanda , prison camp soup. The same kind that
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