European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

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.

By the time I got home in December 1942, I was recruited into the German army, forcibly mobilized.

I was an 18 year old youth at the time and had no idea what the army was or what a weapon was.

I came to the German army at Brno in the Czech Republic; it was called Brünn in German.

I was in the army December 1942, and January and February.

We had what they call in German Ausbildung, which was a drill using German weapons.

We were given an assignment of which I knew nothing about: to fight against the Russian soldiers.

We were sent in February 1943, Germany was suffering

from hard times due to the Soviet troops conquering German troops in Stalingrad,

up in Leningrad, and we were sent to the eastern front.

Introduction, family, youth

Well, I come from a tradesman’s family.