The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1945-11-19
Austria

Continued from Page One)
made no mention OF our where
abou;s or what was happening in
our camp. None Of The letters, We
have found ont since. ever reached
anyone.
our four year old daughter was
allowed 10 run about the yard praC-
tically unmolcsted. ! wondered for
how many Of the prisoners who saw
her she kiudled hope and how
many more. perhaps despair and
pain for irretrievable family losses.
Even this young being, at times,
was frightened and seemed 10 sense
the full gravity of our predicament,
Time and again we would hurrledly
take her away from her playing
and bring her inside the cell and
make all the noise we could by
striking tin pans-or whatever We
had handy-and singing at the top
Of our voices.
But the piercing sound OF rifles
or the peculiar purr Of the German
machineguns-strangely even the
brutal call the next one, The
next one,"-Came to her young
ears, through the din We had tried
/ to create in vain.
/ Again and again the tearing cries
Of officers, civilians, political and
I military prisoners, men and women.
/ Canadian and British parachutists
many kept in solitary confinement
: for one or two years or more until
Z this moment-cut through the air
| like a knife straight to our hearts.
Startled scared stiff we might he
next. we would halt for a second,
/ but resume the din and the singing
AZ once with supreme mental eff
fort and that indescribable God
made instinct Of parents to protect
their young.
The roar Of cannon drew nearer.
The Germans mentioned Wurtz-
burg and British and American
forces were near Nuernburg-on
30 kilometers away. Liberation
seemed within our grasp, from
where we were.
But our odyssey was not 10 end
yet. though 1t was drawing 10 a
close.
Again came an order TO move.
This time we were hustled away at
three a II. in a police wagon.
crowded with other specials. The
destination was again unknown but
we could see we were going south.
As dawn broke we got first hand
proof that the Nazi machine was
fast deteriOTating to the smashing
point. For the first time in seven
years no objection was raised when,
all began talking TO each other and
stopping az a gasoline station. We
kept this up for the entire journey.
The guards were the same tough
s s who had made life so mis-
cradle for us for all those years.
Now they seemed powerless, or in
capable Of reacting in the manner
they had been schooled so well.
They simply kept silent them
selves
But at the end OF our Journey,
late at night. we were TO get an
other scare.
or all places We had been trans
ferred 10 the Infamous Dachau con
centration camp. All Of us saw it
as the end Of the road Our "liqui-
dation' We thought had been or
dered by Hitler, after all.
For some II was true. For
others Of us it was but a stop-over.
We were simply assigned barracks.
allowed to talk freely. No orders
or regulations were made known TO
us
The foul food and cigarettes-we
smoked ersatz tea leayes-didn't
| bother us in the least. We heard
the thunder Of artillery from the
| Danube and We knew the American
attack was on.
Another move. the last. the worst
because we headed for Austria. TO.
ward Hitler's "redoubt'. We felt
we would never come ont Of that
alive.
We went by way Of Innsbruck.
over the Bremen Pass. into the
Puster Nalley-a beautiful trip. II
would have been ordinarily and
might have been then #. in add.
ton TO the "redoubt" nightmare.
Gestapo guards hadn't flashed OK
ecution orders for practically all
OF us specials.
These orders were found later
and some day shall ask for mine
as n memento.
For some days-until the end Of
Aprll-we We're still at the mercy.
OF the S. 5. guards who took devil.
ish delight in "castigating" us as
a yaledictory to the path Of infamy
they had tread But at the end OF
April some courageous fellow pris-
oners, who were officers. aided BY
/ the German army authorities, sue
/ ceedcd IN disarming the Gestapo
and the : S. nightmare was over.
And on May 4th we saw tho first
American and deliverance from n
seven years hell
Dr. Sehuschulgg fixes the blame.
and cites the cost. Of the second
world Wan
Eus CRASH FATAL