European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

That was almost my death, although I didn’t know it.

And then one of the officers, he says to me in Russian what’s your surname?!

I responded Ivan Ivanovic Srcnikov. He said I’m not Yugoslavian, but rather a Vlach.

The Vlachs were Russian soldiers who had gone over to the enemy side, or who had been taken prisoner.

They had gone over and joined the German army.

Then that officer said sitchas mi vidjot, meaning we’ll see now, if you really are Yugoslavian.

I wondered how he could figure that out over a thousand kilometers away.

They shoved me off again, untied me and locked me back in the hen coop. I was there perhaps a day or perhaps only hours.

Hours were an eternity.

The same two soldiers came again and tied me up and covered my eyes.

I thought: goodbye Slovenia, Yugoslavia, I’m going to be shot.

I knew that the Russians shot the German soldiers somewhere down there by the plum trees.

I was sure I was going to be shot.

The two soldiers tied up my eyes and I thought goodbye parents, I’m going to die now.

We stepped out of the hen coop and one of them said that we’re going to headquarters.

When we got there someone asked me my surname. Once more I said Ivan Ivanovic Srcnikov.

He spoke Russian and said something about some measurements; I didn’t understand because he was speaking too fast.

He explained to me that I was standing before a table and that something is on the table, but he didn’t say what.

He said that I would have to show him by the time he counted to ten.

I still didn’t know what.