Day 86 - The VonRunstedt Attack Plan!

"The year was quickly coming to an end for all of us and with the rapidly moving passage of time came a lot of happenings and changes.  At about this time, the weather before our early morning commando was becoming very nippy.


One morning, a new jet fighter zoomed noisily over our heads - we thought it was something from another world.  It was too noisy and speedy for us to make anything of it but the noise and speed spoke for itself.  I would say we barely got a glimpse!!!!! Just like Auschwitz,  we didn't always have to see exactly what was happening to know what was happening - it was there alright !!!!!!


I had now been reassigned to the police college for the rehabilitation of S.S. invalids.  Some of the people had limbs missing and others had come from the front after becoming handicapped.   I was now helping with the cleaning of the classrooms, kitchen and store rooms.


One day, after a particular lecture, I witnessed some of the S.S. invalids studying new strategies!  On this occasion, I saw plans pertaining to a particular goal, The VonRunstedt Attack Plan  - it was drawn in chalk on the blackboard.............


To be continued ...  

Day 85 - Still on Buchenwald's Extermination List!

"Our extermination was still on their priority list.  The Resistance insisted on arms being dropped by our Allies as their armies were now getting closer and closer to us every day.  Regarding our survival at the end, we didn't trust the intentions of the S.S.if it came to the crunch so we needed to be armed!


Our aim was to expand and hang on as long as we could with the few weapons we had at our disposal.  The hope was that we would be able to hold out until the Allied armies could come to our rescue.  By now, most of our former transports were sadly depleted to a ridiculous level.  The assembly of the considerable number of transports still left would be difficult for us to handle if it came to it!


In addition, it would be a mammoth task to entice many of the prisoners to become involved in a revolt within the camp.  In fact, it  probably could only be accomplished if the people involved in the camp resistance would agree to openly and fully commit themselves. Our hope now was that, if necessary, determined leadership would bring our plan to fruition.


Eventually, through the camp resistance, I was transferred to Weimer Police Garage on transport in order to hopefully make a quick getaway!  I was briefed on how and what to do in order to have a chance at saving myself by working at the garage!


Someone at the garage had been designated to look after me and help me out.  Fortunately, during my past experience at the technical school, I had gained a little bit of knowledge of welding and had some mechanical aptitude - hopefully everything would work out for me given a chance!


I was now convinced that many of our leaders were secretly involved with, 
The Masons. While I was at the garage, I came to realize that many of the people involved with me and my potential escape were becoming more and more nervous and found the idea of helping me too risky - they were worried that somebody in the "shop", may give them away.


The German Police Officer in charge of the garage, a friendly man, tried to get me into the "Veruretun Ban"!? the police headquarters used as a rehabilitation cente for wounded S.S..


Every night now, Weimer was being bombed.  When we would arrived for work in the morning we were greeted by the watchful eyes of the security guards and their dogs.  The look of the town was changing after each bombing raid!  By now, parachuted mines had knocked whole rows of houses away causing devastation and demoralization of the local people......"

Day 84 - Blogger piece on Holocaust Denial!

My uncle was one of the soldiers who had the awful experience of seeing the horrors of the concentration camps after they were liberated.
Holocaust denial is only beginning to really take ground because the eyewitnesses are dying off.
The full implications of what happened in the holocaust must be faced, not denied.
The reasons it happened, the sickness of mind that drives people to single out a people group and decide that they are no longer human, needs to be understood and seen for the evil that it is.
Even if you can somehow show that isolated photographs and certain names or even locations are not quite correct in there detail, it is absolutely no reason for trying to establish a case for saying that the overwhelming mass of eyewitness accounts and day to day administration and military documentation, is false.
Holocaust denial should be recognized as a crime because it ultimately connects to the kind of ideology that made the holocaust possible in the first place.

Comment by whitbyjblog — November 3, 2010 @ 5:33 am

Day 83 - Copy of a letter my Dad was allowed to send home!

Day 82 - A stone monument at Buchenwald

"We managed to get hold of some Special Hostage Letters or "schultzhaffling. I think they were supposed to be used for the musicians - through using these letters I managed to send news home and even asked for a few underclothes and a pair of leather shoes.


Caniuz, a Belgian member of our Resistance Group, organized the whole thing  as well as translating my letter into perfect German.  I think he owned a company or bookstore in Belgium.  If one were to ask for too much in the letter it probably would not pass the censor - you could definitely not ask for food.  The clothes would pass the censors on the premise that they were going to be used for some type of gymnastics - the shoes would be a bonus if I could get them for this "holiday camp"!!!


I couldn't believe my eyes when I received a reply, together with a new pair of leather shoes.  My family were now aware that I was still alive and had proof of where I was located - that was the big bonus!  For many of my fallen friends, their parents would not even know where their children had died.  It would be an awful job to have to tell them how they had spent their last moments.


I am now remembering one such story of a good Belgian friend of mine - his story would be very hard for me to tell when I got home.   One evening, on my return from a commando, my friend continuously kept asking me how things were going and what the news was, these were pretty common remarks!  He also asked me when I thought the war would end - I responded with a short, snappy, August 23rd.   I think I was snappy due to stress and the rapid aging process I had been undergoing since being in the camp!


My friend now looked at me with such a pitiful and pleading look, as if I shouldn't have said so.  Such a damned glance - with all the sorrows of the world embedded into it.  


After he had asked me the questions I was silent for a couple of minutes and kept to myself but afterwards said I was sorry.  This was the same day he was killed during the bombing at Steinbruck.   I had foreseen his end.


My friend had been a late arrival at Buchenwald but had still been directed to do hard labor in the quarry.  On the day of the bombing, the S.S. building had remained intact but one wave had fallen in front of it and the other wave had gone past moving right into the quarry.


Real havoc was caused as the wave rolled on - it seemed like it was playing billiards with the rocks and boulders.  By now, its momentum  had doubled which had a big effect on the prisoners in the quarry. Of course, my friend and the other prisoners had no chance of escape.  


Steinbruck had become a grave for many prisoners.  The quarry at Buchenwald had become my friend's destiny and stone monument.


With Allied help,  we had succeeded in getting Buchenwald bombed but my potential escape was not yet over.  I was now ready and The Resistance  wanted to help get me away!


Soon after the bombing I got put back into going on commandos and lost track of "Valkenhof...........




To be continued ...

Day 81 - Shulzhaffling or special hostage letters!

One day, I was watching an S.S. column moving towards the far corner of the fence.  Suddenly, a lone Allied plane approached us as if from nowhere - probably looking for something worthwhile to hit!  He must have come from the coastal area and been scanning these wild parts.  He now quickly dropped a couple of bombs damaging the fence.  At this point, the S.S. were nowhere to be seen - it was as if they had disappeared into thin air!


No prisoner had ever been seen in that corner of the camp.  At this point, the temptation to make an escape was great as it appeared to be a good spot from which to make a quick getaway.  However, I decided not to do anything and after this incident, the two criminals or "greens", found me coming out of the block hut, a bit higher up than when they had last seen me and now covered in fodder - they found this very amusing!


The time of arrival of prisoners at Buchenwald obviously had a big impact on their rate of survival.  In the month of August, a couple of new arrivals from my home town of Ostend had just been caught in the bombings.  Both were members of the White Brigade in Belgium.  One of them was a well known goalkeeper and the other one his mate.


The former goalkeeper had been wounded by shrapnel during the bombings.  He had also risked the run towards the S.S. barricade, located in the bushes and in the process had been shot.  His situation was very similar to when I had been shot by the S.S., the bullet had passed his hip bone and luckily was just a flesh wound.


In comparison to me, he had been a relative newcomer to the camp.  Consequently, his wound had healed much more quickly than mine, very likely because I had been in camps for a much longer time and was therefore very much more under-nourished and so it took longer for my wound to heal.


It was at this time that we laid our hands on special hostage letters or "shultzhaffling".....




To be continued ....

Day 80 - Buchenwald's Watchtowers!

One day, the greens were watching me as I got the barrels from behind the kitchen and loaded them onto a small cart.  Two S.S., were passing by and told them to give me a hand - they looked at their different badges and made sure that they did help me!  The green's didn't take too kindly to that!


We now arrived at the pen to feed the boars.  The scenery all around was like a setting from the Wild West in which to tame wild horses.  Southwards, towards Erfurt was a beautiful view overlooking the big, open countryside.


I was now told to climb over the wooden fence to the animal's troughs or feed boxes and fill them to the brim.  I had to do this in between the constant charges of the wild boars, who seemed to be enjoying the game.  After filling the buckets from the barrels the criminals or greens continued to pass the buckets to me and seemed to be enjoying the situation too.


Those animals had very sharp, protruding horns and appeared to take pleasure in running after each other after going around the entire circle.  To everybody's delight, each time, I would just have enough time for a quick glance and a chance to jump over the fence.


Eventually, I managed to get the last damned box filled up but by now was panting for breath.  After that, we had lunch in a nice cozy, log cabin and told stories to each other.  Why didn't we escape from that corner?
Easier said than done!


The new, young, S.S. recruits were constantly training in those bushes and a bit further on.  The watchtowers, that were also in view, kept a close eye on us too.  One must not forget that the watchtowers were a bit like fortresses. They were on their own and constantly manned by three S.S., on three shifts - so we were being observed all the time.


As previously pointed out, there were also guards being trained and patrol dogs going around the fence - our chances therefore were very slim.  In an emergency, the Tank Corps Panser Grenadiers, stationed below the hill, near Weimer, could place a cordon around the base.  There were also farms in the vicinity with their Home Guards with dogs.  The chance of an escape attempt succeeding were about one in a thousand -  so hardly worth the effort!






To be continued ...