European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

Injuries and being a radio operator

It was a bagatelle that brought me in front of the court martial in Africa.

If they had known what I really did, I would have been summarily executed.

As it was, I was taken to the court martial and condemned to the punishment battalion in Africa.

That was horrible because you were totally isolated

and because you were often sent out in front of the tanks – as cannon catch.

Near the Highfalla Pass, near Tobruk.

I was seriously wounded after six weeks in the punishment battalion.

I was unconscious for two days and then came to Athens and there my eye had to be removed.

The one side of my face is paralysed because of this injury.

I was not fit for war any more and was retrained as a radio operator.

In spite of all my bad luck, this was the best that could happen.

Radio operators were not only privileged.

Due to their occupation they were able to listen to what BBC or the station ‘Freies Deutschland’ were broadcasting.

Every radio operator did that, regardless whether he was a Nazi or an anti-fascist.

When searching for your remote station you had to contact. If you came across any other station you listened into that.

But that wasn’t the only thing a clever radio operator could do. He could also get in touch with another radio station where a comrade sat.

My big advantage was that I gave and received the highest speed, that is to say 140 characters per minute, which was the police radio.

The highest speed that was generally used in the ‘Wehrmacht’ was 120 characters, giving and receiving.

Because I gave 140, I was of interest to the generals.