European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)
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The “Lagerfuhrer”, the boss of all bosses,
The “Lagerfuhrer”, the boss of all bosses,
Der Chef aller Chefs, der “Lagerführer”, -
was so furious one day that we were sanctioned to
was so furious one day that we were sanctioned to
ist eines Tages so wütend geworden ... -
– I will tell you this in German –
– I will tell you this in German –
– Ich sag das auf Deutsch – -
“Diese Leute morgen früh kein Brot”: no bread for three days.
“Diese Leute morgen früh kein Brot”: no bread for three days.
“Diese Leute morgen früh kein Brot”. Die haben uns echt drei Tage kein Brot gegeben. -
The cold and the work
The cold and the work
Die Kälte und die Arbeit -
When we arrived there, the French asked us:
When we arrived there, the French asked us:
Als wir dort ankamen, fragten uns die Franzosen: -
“Since you come from the outside, what do people say? How long will the war last?”.
“Since you come from the outside, what do people say? How long will the war last?”.
„Ihr kommt von draußen, was sagen die Leute?
Wie lange wird der Krieg noch dauern?“ -
We always thought we knew everything, and we told them it would only last one or two more months,
We always thought we knew everything, and we told them it would only last one or two more months,
Wir dachten immer, wir wüssten alles.
und wir sagten, es würde nur noch 1-2 Monate dauern. -
but they replied it would go on for another two years. They were right, the war went on for two more years.
but they replied it would go on for another two years. They were right, the war went on for two more years.
Aber sie antworteten dass es noch zwei Jahre dauern würde.
Sie hatten recht. Der Krieg ging noch zwei Jahre weiter. -
There were women who had to work on the railroad with shovels and pickaxes.
There were women who had to work on the railroad with shovels and pickaxes.
Es gab Frauen, die mit Schaufeln und Pickeln
an den Bahngleisen arbeiten mussten. -
Sometimes they were even pregnant, and trust me, that’s hard work.
Sometimes they were even pregnant, and trust me, that’s hard work.
Manchmal waren sie sogar schwanger,
und glauben Sie mir das ist harte Arbeit. -
They didn’t do a headcount at night,
They didn’t do a headcount at night,
Abends wurde nicht gezählt, -
to see who was back and who wasn’t, they didn’t care if ten of us had died during the day.
to see who was back and who wasn’t, they didn’t care if ten of us had died during the day.
wer zurück kam und wer nicht.
Es wäre ihnen egal, wenn zehn von uns am Tage gestorben wären. -
Similarly, they did not expect us to work too hard, but we had to be at work every day.
Similarly, they did not expect us to work too hard, but we had to be at work every day.
Es war ihnen egal, wie wir arbeiteten,
aber wir mussten jeden Tag auf der Arbeit sein. -
In my camp, after we woke up at five,
In my camp, after we woke up at five,
Nach dem Wecken morgens um 5 Uhr -
we were supposed to get up and leave with the others,
we were supposed to get up and leave with the others,
mussten wir aufstehen und mit den anderen das Lager verlassen. -
but after that there was no control on what we did during the day.
but after that there was no control on what we did during the day.
Aber danach gab es keine Kontrollen darüber, was wir tagsüber machten. -
And in any case, there was nowhere we could go.
And in any case, there was nowhere we could go.
Wir konnten jedenfalls nirgends hin. -
You were simply expected to be at work, even if you didn’t do anything all day.
You were simply expected to be at work, even if you didn’t do anything all day.
Man erwartete, dass wir bei der Arbeit sind,
auch wenn wir den ganzen Tags nichts tun würden. -
It was very cold where we were.
It was very cold where we were.
Es war sehr kalt dort.