European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

The country constables were having their evening meal

and unfortunately one was shot there, because he didn’t put his hands up.

One hand went to the pistol - he put the other hand up - and with that he risked his life.

The partisan first shouted: “Hands up!” which he didn’t do and so he was shot.

That was the first dead person in our house.

The field police occupied our house for 10 days, they all were regular SS men

and searched the village and the forest where they assumed the partisans to be around.

Of course they had already pulled back and disappeared.

Life in fear

They were very frightened – of course.

They heard when one was caught and another one…

We always thought: ‘hopefully that won’t happen to us’.

Everybody was living with fear at this time;

at home, as well. They did not know what was going to happen.

In our family: my brother fell in 1942 in Russia,

1943 they enlisted the second brother, 1944 I was arrested,

and in January 1945 my other brother was enlisted.

Nobody knew how it would end.

It was a horrible thing for the families.

You had to get through it and still believe in a good ending.