Once again we are faced by the approaching winter although except for a slight frost in the morning and the fall of the leaves it is hardly noticeable. We are obsessed by one desire namely the end of the war before the snow comes. Despite the fact that we are all physically fitter than a year ago and also better clothed the coming winter looms exceedingly ominously in front of us and our parcel issues of food once per fortnight does not tend to alleviate our misgivings. Nevertheless the war news keeps us going and it is very rarely that we are without a newspaper from one source or another. The tremendous push through France and Belgium put us in such an extreme state of optimism that we all thought everything was over bar the shouting and now a slight reaction has overtaken us. In the meantime it would appear that after the collapse of Romania, Bulgaria and Finland, the Russians are once again on the offensive. Over here the Allied Air Fleets continue their majestic and almost undisturbed flights, bombs drop from time to time and an occasional German fighter falls out of the sky in flames, whilst a certain portion of the Germans continue to stupidly assert the fact that “Deutschland ist nicht caput”. Except for occasional blitzes, the guards and workers alike, leave us more or less alone to carry on our jobs, but in the event of a blitz nowadays we very rarely come off worse in the battle of words. We have discovered the only possible way to deal with Germans is to shout louder than they can, and believe me it is some feat. Their bullying attitude is inherent in their physical make-up whilst their cruelty must be seen to be believed.
Whilst sitting in the comfort and security of one’s own home in England it is well nigh impossible to conceive the exact meaning of Concentration Camp, Schwere Lager or Strafe Lager [Punishment Warehouses] and one is apt to have a slight suspicion that it is propaganda on our part, but when one lives with the present day Germans it is possible to believe anything of them. Their cruelty is in fact illimitable. Schwere Lagers and Strafe Lagers are not myths, they are facts which should in themselves make the name German stink forever in civilised communities. Only a few kilometres from our Kommando is the infamous “Elbe, Gummi Werke” [Elbe Rubber Plant] which is one of these so-called Schwere Lagers. The guards here are young Nazi toughs or SS, even the “inmates” are unfortunate Germans (political prisoners), French, Belgian, Dutch, Russians, Poles and the rest. Fortunately for us, British prisoners are protected by the Red Cross and therefore are saved from this extreme indignity and suffering.
One qualifies for the Schwere Lager for political offences, consorting with German women, not working sufficiently hard, and a host of other reasons. One form of medicine consisted of 6 Frenchmen being laid face downwards and completely nude, on a wooden table, 3 on either side with an SS man to each. The poor victims were then unmercifully belaboured with the “Gummie”, a thick flexible rubber truncheon, into insensibility, they were then revived by the application of a pail of cold water and the flagellation continued. One poor old Russian of more than 60 years old and in an advanced state of malnutrition was compelled to work 15 hours and then scrub his billet. Five hours remained for sleep and in the morning being unable to rise from his bed he was struck across the head and mouth with the Gummie until he expired.
Schwere Lagers is not the only harsh treatment meted out by the Germans. With the advance of the Allies in the East and West hundreds of thousands of foreign civilians were rushed to the frontiers for the digging of defences. French, Belgians and Russians have been whisked away with a few German taskmasters, at a moments notice with hardly time to pack a few of their meagre belongings.
In our own factory when we have a free Sunday the Gummie Werke makes use of the crushing and pressing machine. On these occasions I have been able to see for myself, the treatment meted out to these poor prisoners. 6 or 7 of these poor abandoned wretches work unloading lorries of Vulcanite filling up small wagons and pushing them around a small railway system, should for one moment the pitiful efforts of their emaciated ill clad bodies relax, they are immediately yelled at with a torrent of most abusive German and struck indiscriminately on that part of the body which is in nearest proximity to the Guard. Apparently the sole object of the Guards is to see which of them can draw the most blood.
The condition of these Schwere Lager prisoners is amazing and unbelievable in a heretofore civilized country. Their clothing hardly exists, it is nothing but the remains of blue overalls, their footwear very inadequate wooden soled boots with uppers made of ersatz rubber. Socks are non-existent. The bodies of these shadows of men are almost devoid of all flesh, they are walking skeletons and their ration of food is such that they could not be otherwise. The head is uncovered and close cropped with a two inch band shaved completely across the head beginning in the front and going straight over the top, finishing at the nape of the neck. These men exist almost entirely on 200 grammes of black bread and watery soup per day. Our boys here do their best to slip them as many cigarettes and bread as we can spare. It is a ticklish business getting anything over to them because of the ever vigilant guards, we are not punished if discovered but the other poor victim is belaboured at the guards pleasure.