He had obviously never seen a zipper before. Nor had the other guards. The Poles are kept crowded in their cells without respite. There is little or no air. It is either freezing cold or desperately hot.
Dozens are jammed in a cell meant for five.
The smell of the latrines is overwhelming. They are trapped there for what seems like forever. We marvelled at the design of leaves, their saw-like edges and their delicate veins, as if we had never seen them before. Just as being cut off form the outside world had heightened our appreciation for nature, so the months of hunger had sharpened our ability to smell food. We could smell fresh bread even before it was unloaded in front of the prison gate from the van that brought it from a bakery in town.