"Auspicious symbols had helped get me a better placement within the camp. For a short time I earned extra porridge and was supplied with some dregs of wine and cigarettes. The work was easier and more refined than hard labor in the quarry. The Ukranians now smoked their Margorka from newspapers that had been thrown away by the S.S. - they looked like flaming torches in big clouds of bellowing smoke.
My first placement was also in the first department of the workshop. There was an assembly of small electrical components on benches with drilling for bakelite flat panels. These panels fitted together with a terminal hole for an antenna in the middle - it was a guide system, for what? There were also milling and drilling machines.
One civil engineer and two female assistants worked with us as silent partners. They were the first women we had seen in a long time, so it was a renewed experienced for us. They showed us the ropes and the intricacies of the job. I managed to have a convivial short chat with them while standing back with the technicians - the women kept well away from us.
The technician knew Ostend very well and was very casual and jovial. He talked about how he had enjoyed going to the coast at Ostend before the war. At that point, we had to stop the conversation because Tom Mix came along on a patrol! He was an older, S.S. guard, assigned to keep an eye on us - so, we were good boys now!
He noticed the numbers on our arms were from Auschwitz and was curious as to how we had landed up at Buchanwald. I suppose, he was probably wondering how the upper command had let us out - it was unheard of before our enchanted trip! Everybody now watched Tom Mix closely until he was out of sight.
As soon as he was gone, the first thing that surprised me was the senior, a Frenchman. He was cracking the panels in front of him and throwing most of them away. After watching him pushing the drills down very hard he instructed me to do the same. If that was the play!, I was game, of course. Somehow, it seemed alright. The sabotage was on in full swing now.
All the panels that now passed us included invisible cracks, those that were too bad were thrown away for scrap. These panels certainly must have been guides for something, but what? Was it submarines, planes or a new system altogether? It seemed to be a closed secret and a closed shop for us too.
The civilian supervisor, seemed to be a very clever man - he looked like a space age scientist, A Werner Von Braun type, tall, blond, thin and full of intense energy. On the other hand, he could also have been the arche type for the ideal S.S. man, portrayed in the typical Germanic, Aryan specimens they so much desired to back breed.
Sunday was our day off! On Sunday morning, I was busy walking around to the wooden barracks, we were allowed to do this, they were near to the appeal or gathering place and I was eagerly looking for recognizable faces. This was one of the few times, for a long time, that I had decided to be more up front instead of keeping out of sight and in the background.
As this moment, the tragic prophesy that had been predicted at that table in Fort Du-ha came true - I now bumped into Janeck again and as foretold we were meeting on a hill in Germany!
Janeck was already well established with the Polish patriots in his block and already knew the score in regards to the underground activities. By the sound of it he knew more than I did! He didn't have much to say except on the issue of Guzloff - it was definitely a secret project and most likely involved a top secret weapon. He had to go now, but our next meeting would bring us close together again to see if we could be of help to each other.
At this point, it was very probable that I would be brought into line for courier preparation for underground activities. I had to be told everything by my own section in the block I was in. There was a more mature, indentured courier launched well before me - I was put on the reserve. In case of his failure, only then would I be activated for sure. My full acknowledgement, until the appropriate time, was not all that much desired in case of complications!
To be continued ...
My first placement was also in the first department of the workshop. There was an assembly of small electrical components on benches with drilling for bakelite flat panels. These panels fitted together with a terminal hole for an antenna in the middle - it was a guide system, for what? There were also milling and drilling machines.
One civil engineer and two female assistants worked with us as silent partners. They were the first women we had seen in a long time, so it was a renewed experienced for us. They showed us the ropes and the intricacies of the job. I managed to have a convivial short chat with them while standing back with the technicians - the women kept well away from us.
The technician knew Ostend very well and was very casual and jovial. He talked about how he had enjoyed going to the coast at Ostend before the war. At that point, we had to stop the conversation because Tom Mix came along on a patrol! He was an older, S.S. guard, assigned to keep an eye on us - so, we were good boys now!
He noticed the numbers on our arms were from Auschwitz and was curious as to how we had landed up at Buchanwald. I suppose, he was probably wondering how the upper command had let us out - it was unheard of before our enchanted trip! Everybody now watched Tom Mix closely until he was out of sight.
As soon as he was gone, the first thing that surprised me was the senior, a Frenchman. He was cracking the panels in front of him and throwing most of them away. After watching him pushing the drills down very hard he instructed me to do the same. If that was the play!, I was game, of course. Somehow, it seemed alright. The sabotage was on in full swing now.
All the panels that now passed us included invisible cracks, those that were too bad were thrown away for scrap. These panels certainly must have been guides for something, but what? Was it submarines, planes or a new system altogether? It seemed to be a closed secret and a closed shop for us too.
The civilian supervisor, seemed to be a very clever man - he looked like a space age scientist, A Werner Von Braun type, tall, blond, thin and full of intense energy. On the other hand, he could also have been the arche type for the ideal S.S. man, portrayed in the typical Germanic, Aryan specimens they so much desired to back breed.
Sunday was our day off! On Sunday morning, I was busy walking around to the wooden barracks, we were allowed to do this, they were near to the appeal or gathering place and I was eagerly looking for recognizable faces. This was one of the few times, for a long time, that I had decided to be more up front instead of keeping out of sight and in the background.
As this moment, the tragic prophesy that had been predicted at that table in Fort Du-ha came true - I now bumped into Janeck again and as foretold we were meeting on a hill in Germany!
Janeck was already well established with the Polish patriots in his block and already knew the score in regards to the underground activities. By the sound of it he knew more than I did! He didn't have much to say except on the issue of Guzloff - it was definitely a secret project and most likely involved a top secret weapon. He had to go now, but our next meeting would bring us close together again to see if we could be of help to each other.
At this point, it was very probable that I would be brought into line for courier preparation for underground activities. I had to be told everything by my own section in the block I was in. There was a more mature, indentured courier launched well before me - I was put on the reserve. In case of his failure, only then would I be activated for sure. My full acknowledgement, until the appropriate time, was not all that much desired in case of complications!
To be continued ...
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