almighty wisdom and bountiful goodness would never allow such a thing.
The battalion was kept on the move through the village, and out of sight of the gaping soldiers, on for another six miles. They were brought to a halt at last, and were treated to a warm reception by a body of guards from Warsaw Security, with the forbidding insignia of the death’s head on their helmets. They were lined up and assaulted in the usual friendly fashion of the Security people. Anyone even slightly out of line received either a blow on the head or a bullet through the back of the neck from a P38. Those who fell to the ground were casually kicked unconscious and left to the mercy of the prowling dogs. There was a great deal of yelling and screaming and confusion, dogs barking, boots stamping, men shouting orders. All this was quite normal procedure.
After a bit, when the battalion had been suitably pruned and was apparently thought to be presentable, it was handed over to a major and two of Dirlewanger’s special companies. The Major instantly commanded the shivering dregs of 999 to take off their rags and to line up facing the wall with their hands behind their heads. Anyone who dared to move, he informed them, would be shot. It appeared from the subsequent reduction in numbers that a great many of them had so dared.
The Major continued calmly talking as the murderers of Dirlewanger continued with their task of selective weedingand hoeing. For almost an hour he talked. He described in glowing detail the various punishments they could look forward to if any of them departed from the rules and regulations by so much as a hair’s breadth. He cautioned them most emphatically against attempting to follow their erstwhile companions across the lines to the Russian trenches: the families of every man, wives, children, mothers and fathers, had been rounded up and were being held as hostages. Finally, he announced that those who were still alive might now put on their clothes preparatory to being transported to the 27th Tank Regiment. There they would find plenty of opportunities to die like heroes.
By now, probably even the prospect of standing knee-deep in mud with Russian mortars whistling through the air had begun to seem like a fairly pleasant way of passing the time. The survivors climbed back thankfully into whatever bits and pieces of clothing they could find, and were suitably impressed to discover that a fleet of lorries was waiting to convey them to their new destination. Unfortunately for them, however, the 27th Tank Regiment was still a long, long way ahead; and some were not destined to reach it. A secret tribunal had been held, and it had been somewhat arbitrarily decided that one man in three should be condemned to death without trial. It was to this that they were now being driven.
The lorries drew up at the appointed place and disgorged their sorry load. With bayonet and rifle butt the men were driven through an archway of soldiers armed with rods of iron towards the slaughterhouse. Some of them never even reached the slaughterhouse. It is truly amazing what mortal blows can be dealt by a thin sliver of iron in the hands of an expert. Of course, when a man is in the army, he kills by whatever method is demanded of him. One pretty soon became expert in most types of murder.
Those who had successfully run the gauntlet were herded down into the damp darkness of the cellars of a ruined building. The ground beneath was quickly ploughed into a glutinous mud. Water dripped from the ceiling. Sewer rats,made bold from hunger, scurried about, gnawing at the men’s legs. There was scarcely sufficient room to house so many bodies. The guards had to use their whips before the doors could be closed and bolted.
All day and all night the men were left to starve and suffocate. It was each man for himself, there was no place left for sentiment. The weakest were pushed under. Shortly after midnight the doors were opened and half a dozen names
The battalion was kept on the move through the village, and out of sight of the gaping soldiers, on for another six miles. They were brought to a halt at last, and were treated to a warm reception by a body of guards from Warsaw Security, with the forbidding insignia of the death’s head on their helmets. They were lined up and assaulted in the usual friendly fashion of the Security people. Anyone even slightly out of line received either a blow on the head or a bullet through the back of the neck from a P38. Those who fell to the ground were casually kicked unconscious and left to the mercy of the prowling dogs. There was a great deal of yelling and screaming and confusion, dogs barking, boots stamping, men shouting orders. All this was quite normal procedure.
After a bit, when the battalion had been suitably pruned and was apparently thought to be presentable, it was handed over to a major and two of Dirlewanger’s special companies. The Major instantly commanded the shivering dregs of 999 to take off their rags and to line up facing the wall with their hands behind their heads. Anyone who dared to move, he informed them, would be shot. It appeared from the subsequent reduction in numbers that a great many of them had so dared.
The Major continued calmly talking as the murderers of Dirlewanger continued with their task of selective weedingand hoeing. For almost an hour he talked. He described in glowing detail the various punishments they could look forward to if any of them departed from the rules and regulations by so much as a hair’s breadth. He cautioned them most emphatically against attempting to follow their erstwhile companions across the lines to the Russian trenches: the families of every man, wives, children, mothers and fathers, had been rounded up and were being held as hostages. Finally, he announced that those who were still alive might now put on their clothes preparatory to being transported to the 27th Tank Regiment. There they would find plenty of opportunities to die like heroes.
By now, probably even the prospect of standing knee-deep in mud with Russian mortars whistling through the air had begun to seem like a fairly pleasant way of passing the time. The survivors climbed back thankfully into whatever bits and pieces of clothing they could find, and were suitably impressed to discover that a fleet of lorries was waiting to convey them to their new destination. Unfortunately for them, however, the 27th Tank Regiment was still a long, long way ahead; and some were not destined to reach it. A secret tribunal had been held, and it had been somewhat arbitrarily decided that one man in three should be condemned to death without trial. It was to this that they were now being driven.
The lorries drew up at the appointed place and disgorged their sorry load. With bayonet and rifle butt the men were driven through an archway of soldiers armed with rods of iron towards the slaughterhouse. Some of them never even reached the slaughterhouse. It is truly amazing what mortal blows can be dealt by a thin sliver of iron in the hands of an expert. Of course, when a man is in the army, he kills by whatever method is demanded of him. One pretty soon became expert in most types of murder.
Those who had successfully run the gauntlet were herded down into the damp darkness of the cellars of a ruined building. The ground beneath was quickly ploughed into a glutinous mud. Water dripped from the ceiling. Sewer rats,made bold from hunger, scurried about, gnawing at the men’s legs. There was scarcely sufficient room to house so many bodies. The guards had to use their whips before the doors could be closed and bolted.
All day and all night the men were left to starve and suffocate. It was each man for himself, there was no place left for sentiment. The weakest were pushed under. Shortly after midnight the doors were opened and half a dozen names
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