European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

were we would have been shot down by the American artillery straight after our first shot.

No one would have survived.

So was the military operation on many sections of the front.

Literature about this does exist.

The principle was: extermination of the politicals; they were to perish in the war and not survive.

The companies were assembled as follows:

1/3 political prisoners, 1/3 criminals and 1/3 officers, corporals

and lance-corporals who were mainly Nazis.

You had to be really careful if you did not really know the political prisoners.

Any comments or thoughts – it was very easy to get shot.

Some did know each other.

They had been in prison together and now, met again after many years.

Now you didn’t always know how somebody thought in 1940 or 42, who had been imprisoned in 1934/35/36.

You did notice and in time you had contact to the political ones.

We were all political prisoners.

We had made sure of no others joining us.

That was important - even there.

The training: We did not have a pass. Later on, in Belgium, we did.

There was always a corporal walking along with us (with 3 or 5 men)

who had to make sure that no one started to talk to other people.