European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

That was where we had to live for the next months and years.

The Luckau prison was overcrowded.

There were three men in a solitary cell.

We were isolated. We only got out of the cell in our release time, for half an hour.

We had to keep distance to the others and were not allowed to talk.

There was one bed under the window, the other bed was tipped up on the wall

and the third man had to lie on the floor on mattresses.

We even had to relieve ourselves in the cell.

We had no work at first.

Later on, we were given some work. We had to untie and undo jute

from the threshing machines. There was always so much dirt in the cell.

Later on we had to put our prison clothes and shoes outside in the evenings,

because they were frightened that we would escape.

I received mail from my sister.

She reported about things and sent greetings from my parents, too – and wrote about scientific subjects quite often.

That animated discussions, because we were three men.

The other two were there because of ‘the sports case’, as well.

Later on I got permission to learn shorthand writing.

But for practicing we only had a slate.

On that of course shorthand – is quite an illusion.