European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

One morning the mother brought a picture, an icon of the Mother Mary.

I said mother in Russian to her – a little Russian, a little Slovene and a little Serbocroatian – and I asked her why she brings this picture.

I explained that we have such pictures hanging on our walls. She said that her girls and boys were communists.

I knew almost nothing about communism.

Basically because we never learned anything about it or about politics and political parties.

She said at the time you know, mine are komsomoljki. The word komsomolj was foreign to me.

That’s how well we communicated, we worked well together, and we gave food to these girls for their efforts.

Once, the younger girl said Ivo, listen, I have a bomaska for you.

You’re wondering what a bomaska is?

It’s a quarter piece of paper on which something is written, half in German and half in Russian.

Can you read Russian? Yes, I said, so-so. She asked how so-so? I just said so-so.

The Russian alphabet has more letters than Cyrillic’s.

I knew a little German and a little Russian and a little Serbocroatian and of course Slovene; so I read it.

The younger girl told me that if I get caught by the Soviet’s, that this bomaska will get me an extra piece of bread.

I had no idea why this bomaska was so valuable.

At any rate, it’s what the younger girl said to me,

that when the Russians capture me I must show this and I’ll receive an extra piece of bread.

Mobilization into the Wehrmacht

We were recruited while serving in the Arbeitsdienst.

I was assigned to the German infantry.