Thursday 31 May 2012

Day 90 - 9th February, 1945 - No trains at Buchenwald!

Janeck's friend had started a love affair, with a German girl, which was very well know to all of us and also successful - the Germans close by liked it.  We all seemed to idolize and support the secret romance as well as helped to protect the smooth running of the affair.  Sometimes, during the alarms, they had long moments by themselves.  The alarms were occurring more frequently than at any other time!

One day, we had stayed out much longer than the usual time.  We passed along a river with a big ridge rising just behind us.  A short distance away from me, I now noticed two very fit, S.S. with an amphibious "Volkswagon, with great concentration and very laboriously they seemed to be putting something down near to the fence.  They then drove quickly away in an awful hurry

The next day, the same alarm occurred again and lingered on too!  This was the 9th of February, 1945.  It was a clear and beautifully sunny, day, a bit chilly that was all but very dry and we were enjoying our outing!

All of us were now standing in a group and talking together.  Suddenly, from behind the ridge, on an average attacking altitude, "the super fortresses", appeared in full formation!  This was the big prelude to the usual frontal assault.

The planes were now throwing down their smoke tracers, in various colors and at a steep angle. We just saw the released bombs awkwardly beginning to drop out of the opened bays.  After this there was a draft and a terrible noise - we then realized that they were coming straight for us!

Holy Mackerel!!!!!  We just about had enough time left to run and jump quickly behind the parapet bordering the river before the impact hit the ground just where we had been standing moments ago!  The mud and stones were falling all over us now and into the river.  One very sharp stone piercing my cranium with blood spurting out and down my face -  it was a small, sharp, deep cut as if by an arrow ahead.

Around the edge of the nearest enormous crater was one of my mates laying without any movement, he was just behind the turned over edge.  We felt for sure, that he was dead!  Suddenly, he woke up and rose up, as if from the grave and joined us, smiling.  If ever I saw a Zombie like creature it was him!!! Maybe, everything had just passed over him.  He was one of the surviving carpenters and builders left behind in Buchenwald.

The Angel of protection or the crossing of the Red Sea, in small doses, was happening to quite a few of us, or we liked to think so, for our own sake.  Otherwise, the dividing line was very thinly strung.  When would all of this stop - we had just about had enough of it all by this time!

The landscape had changed into a real mess, the earth was overturned and poles and ruins were left behind with all kinds of debris being strewn about! The debris was all mixed up, making it look as if a tornado and earthquake had just struck as well as a battle had just happened!   Everything raged in one hell of a havoc - a complete chaos!!

We had no intention of returning to the center as the sounds of heavy planes kept on and on!   Turning around now, to see if there was anything worthwhile left - we noticed that our guards had had enough of it as well.  Everybody had just walked away!

It was a pity that there were no trains available at such a moment!  They were either out of service, hiding or destroyed.

To be continued ...........


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