During that period the Czech Krone depreciated quickly, and the Germans got 10 Krone for each
Mark. Within four weeks all the stores were sold out of everything. Coffee and chocolate
were then not available in Germany, while we were still able to buy these products in
Czechoslovakia. Therefore, many people came from Germany and bought everything that was
available because it was much cheaper for them, and also because many items were no longer
available in Germany. By his conquest of Sudetenland, Hitler satisfied his people for a
while. Not much later the rest of Czechoslovakia was occupied by the Germans, an action
declared as being necessary for the protection of Germany. The Czechs fared much better
than us Sudeten-Germans who had sacrificed themselves for the republic. Many of us were
forced to work on the construction of highways or were sent to the war industry. Many
Republicans were sent to camps, the so-called concentration camps, which we found out
about afterwards. We were all picked up and arrested by the Republic's Defense group.
Some were, as we were told, sent to concentration camps to be re-educated. We had no
choice but to keep our mouths shut and think of the song "Our thoughts are free, who
could guess what they are, which fly by on the nightly shadow." I had many sleepless
nights. At work my position became debatable, and those who were two-shouldered (two faced)
wanted my position, and tried everything to find fault with me, but it was not possible for
them because I had some friends in the administration whose beliefs were the same as mine.
The currency was modified, and the German Mark was introduced at 10 to 1. The stores had already
sold everything and were empty, and were placed under the control of the government in accordance
with the Reich. After all this, the problems began in Poland, similar to what we had in
Czechoslovakia. The Russians, meaning Stalin, made a pact with Hitler. The still remaining
communists joined willingly to the SS and SA. The Jewish were persecuted and taken to concentration
camps where many were executed. They were all under the risk of being executed. At that time we
did not know about any of this. The people were told that the Jews were sent away. All Jewish
books and text had to be disposed of, including the Marxist books. These were all burned.
All property and belongings of the Jews were confiscated. Many of the Jews were able to flee
early enough to save their lives. The cheer under the so-called Arians (the pure Germans) was
immense and the tension blossomed. Fathers often couldn't even trust their own children, or
the children could not trust their parents. Since my last name (David) sounded Jewish and not
Arian, I was required to get an Ancestors Pass, and prove that my forefathers were not Jewish.
Finally a pact was made with Russia, and Poland was occupied. We did not know then, that half of
Poland belonged to the Germans, and half to the Russians. The cheers were very big in Germany.
Some friends of mine were not very alarmed about this invasion, but I predicted that it would
lead to a war which would be disastrous and last even longer than the First World War, and that
all the people would suffer. And this is how it really turned out. The war lasted for 6 years before
the war came to the terrible end. It was an end with a lot of suffering and misery for
many. The war declarations came with a thump. First there was England, then France, because
they felt obligated to Poland, and then the British Commonwealth countries joined, including
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and so on. Just Ireland stayed out. I heard this all on the
radio, although it was not permitted to listen to foreign stations, or better said, the enemy
stations. Goebels and Goering made long speeches. Hitler and the little Hitlers became powerful.
Every Sunday a collection was made. Each month a meager stew was prepared, and what was left over
was donated. Everything was put into one pot and prepared for the army. Ration cards were given
out on the first day of the war. There was just enough food on these ration cards to survive on.
For many other items we were given coupons. The war was very well planned. However most of the
people ran around with their eyes closed and did not see what was happening, nor want to
see what was going on around them.
Every day some news reports came on the radio informing us, that hundreds of thousands gross
weight of shipped goods had been destroyed. Japan had also put their war machinery into gear
and occupied one country after another. Mussolini agreed with Hitler, and he fought on all
fronts with Hitler. Hitler let the money machines roll day and night, even though there was
no coverage in the foreign countries. In the spring of 1940, Hitler occupied Holland, Luxembourg,
Belgium, Denmark and Norway. After that, France was hit again. Till then everything went
according to the Nazi's wishes. The Hitler followers had let the victory news go to their heads.
The women were like chickens in a basket.
All the boys and girls between 10 and 16 years of age had to join the Hitler Youth organization.
The boys over 16 years were enlisted into the armed forces, as were most of the men. Some of
them went to the SS. The SA was put together with the older men. For many there was no escape.
I connected myself with the Red Cross. I was considered politically undependable, which I
realized later. We were all taken for evaluation and were provided with a Military Pass, with
the illustration on it of KV or GVH. KV meant capable for war. GVH meant capable for at home.
In 1940 my brother Max was required to go to military. He was involved with the occupation of
France. At that time there were still many who did not realize what the war meant. There still
was not too many casualties and missing soldiers. I no longer had a military pass and believed
that I was spared. In the spring of 1940 my brother in-law was also required to go to the
military. On June 3, I was drafted and provided with a military pass with KV. I barely
had 3 days to prepare myself. From the factory an official request was made for me to stay,
but it was refused. No one could understand why so many men were required. I was drafted to
Kamens in Saxon, Germany, where there were many men from Sudetenland. After we finished
our training, and when Hitler declared war on Russia on July 16, 1941, we understood why
so many soldiers were needed. Six days later, I was put with a tank unit and sent to Russia.
It was then I found out and realized that my Military Pass identified me as
politically unreliable. All who had this type of a military pass were sent to Russia.
We went to Preslau, and from there to Preslidov, Willnor, Minsk and to Gomel. In Gomel,
was our first contact with the enemy. We were shot at from both the Russian and German
sides. Our soldiers shot at too close of a range, even though they knew we were there.
There I saw the first dead, and learned what being scared was about.
I was ordered to do Medical Service and help the medical officers because I had some previous
experience in this area. Through my pleading, a friend of mine was also able to come to this
area. My motto always was: to heal the wounds is better than to cause the wounds. We had to
go along on patrols. We helped many of the civilians in the towns and cities where we went,
no matter if it was a women, child or man, and even though it was not permitted to help the
civilians. We always advanced, but had no reserves and no winter clothes. We often depended
on the civilians when we wanted to get warm. We slept on the baking ovens in their houses.
In the forests near Brians and Gomel, splintered Russian Partisan units had formed. They made
a lot of difficulties for the German troops. Often during the night they attacked the German
camps and supply depots, and by morning they were gone again with no signs of them left behind.
They were large bands. In 1941 for Christmas we had very little food, and often ate fish, which
we were able to get out of the rivers. This became quite a task because the rivers were frozen
shut. It was very cold. The barometer showed near -40 degrees. We were glad when we found a spot
to hide and keep warm. Some soldiers froze their feet, hands and ears. It looked terrible when
you saw them the next day. Some soldiers feet were frozen and had turned black right up to the
ankles, or their hands were swollen like little loaves of bread, and the ears were the size of
saucer plates. There was no front line duty for us, for a few months, because we had lost more
than half of our unit. This gave us a chance to recuperate. A typhus epidemic had spread from
the lice which we all had. Often complete units were threatened. The loss was huge; 80% of the
sick died, 10% went insane, and the other 10% survived. The local civilians were immune to this.
In January, 1942, a so-called immunization was developed. In the beginning, this was a very costly
thing, and only those who had the disease, and the older soldiers received the immunization. Later
all soldiers were vaccinated, and a huge epidemic was prevented. The winter clothes donated by
the people at home finally came to the front line at Easter, 1942, when the winter was just about
over. During that time the countries of Rumania, Bulgaria, Greece and Yugoslavia all surrendered
to the Germans. Hungary came at free will because the country was already under fascist rule.
Spain and other countries were also included.
The SS units caused a lot of confusion between the civilians and also the army. If prisoners
were transferred to the SS, and there were less than 100 of them, the SS executed them without
any reason. They were often put on the trains in cattle cars, and with temperatures of -40C,
froze to death. Those left over, were locked in prison camps where they had nothing to
eat and were required to sleep in caves or holes in the ground. They died by the hundreds.
The Hungarians brought civilians along. Later we realize they were Jews. They were taken to
work on the front and used to feed the cannons. The terrible fight by Stalingrad became known
when the 6th Army was locked in. For us it was only rumors, because we were never told the
truth. In the mean time, Field Marshall Romel had also made advances in the desert of West Africa.
We were then put on assignment in Orel in Russia, close to Truhe. In the spring of 1942,
I was sent to Smolenzk for some Atebrim tablets because there was an outbreak of Malaria.
The train to Smolenzk was blown up with dynamite. I was very lucky. I was in the maintenance
car right behind the locomotive. The first 6 cars behind the locomotive were not damaged,
even though 2 or 3 of them derailed. After the bridge we came to a stand still, with a few
bumps and bruises. Eighteen cars were blown up which had food in them. Everything was lying
around and there were many dead and wounded from the accompanying crew. After several weeks
of delay I returned to my troupe with the Atebrin tablets. The Atebrin tablets were given to
the soldiers every morning. During that time I somehow got a small wound in my upper left leg
from fragments of a grenade. It was not serious and I was able to stay with my unit. It healed
within 3-4 weeks, and a few weeks later, we were sent out to attack the partisans. After that,
in May 1942, I was allowed to take three weeks of holidays and go home. Shortly before I left
I developed a middle-ear infection. I did not inform the doctor, otherwise I would not have
been allowed to go on holidays. I went to the doctor at home where it healed with his treatment.
At home I was not able to sleep in the bed because I was not used to the softness of the feather
bed. At first I slept in an open area on the hard floor, and it took me about a week to get used
to the feather bed again. Soon, my unforgettable holidays was over and after my 21 days, I had to
go back.
After I returned my company was at full strength, but we had lost about 2/3 of our men since the
beginning of the war, mostly due to death or being wounded. We were then put on an assignment
via Kursk to Woronesch, where our assignment was very difficult. We lost many more men, and I
again received a small wound on my lower right arm. I didn't even notice it until I saw the
blood on my arm. It was not very serious. I was required to stay with the unit, and after about
3-4 weeks it healed. The situation got much worse when the Russians occupied half of the city
of Woronesch. They were in various locations around us, and we were in danger of being blocked
in. We therefore were shifted back to Kursk. From there, in the spring of 1943, I was allowed to
take some holidays once again. We were required to take all of our belongings with us, the rifle
and gas mask included. If caught without these we were required to go back immediately to our
unit and get them. At home, I had a reunion with friends, where the little Hitlers watched us
and tracked us. My friends were questioned by them after I left, which I found out in later
years. I had then said that if Germany loses the war a very serious thing would happen to
Germany. The followers of Hitler were too much on a victory roll and did not want to see
the pain that they had brought to the people. They were still sure of victory, even though
the war at Stalingrad had already been lost.
When I returned from my holidays, the army was about to be regrouped. From Breslitov it took
me two weeks to get to my troupe and when I stepped out of the train in Kursk, a rumor had
spread that those returning from holidays would now belong to a new unit. This unit would
then be assembled and sent on another mission. We were waiting for the instruction about
which troupe we would have to join, and I was standing in one of the last rows, when I saw
a truck of my former unit on the road nearby. So, I quickly ran away to join them, and I
was well received by them. I hid myself, and in doing so I was able to come back to my
former troupe. It was always considered a worst possible scenario if you were moved to
another troupe. So now I was back again with the Schwaben unit to which I had belonged
from the beginning. In the fall of 1943, the fighting in Kursk had spread, and the circle
around the city was closing even more. We again lost a lot of men. I was then assigned to
a so-called After Commando. When our unit was withdrawn from Kursk, the mission of the After
Commando was to blow up the camp, which was built by the Germans, such that nothing would be
left of it. We, in the After Commando, remained in Kursk for another couple of weeks, and were
getting surrounded more and more by the Russians. There was only a small gap on one side which
was still open. We could hear the loudspeakers from the Russians.
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