This Soldier's Fortune - The Trials and Triumphs of a Polish Soldier during WWII by Tratkiewicz Zygmunt

Author:Tratkiewicz, Zygmunt [Tratkiewicz, Zygmunt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781922168146
Publisher: Connor Court
Published: 2013-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

11

Guttenberg

The Nazis needed to replace the labour on their farms and agricultural facilities that was being lost by the conscription of German men into the war machine. They decided that they could cover these losses through the use of forced labour. There were already many thousands of prisoners of war interned in Stalags throughout Germany, many with the knowledge and experience to step in and fill the breach. To make their system operate efficiently, prisoners were assigned to work gangs of thirty men. The composition of each gang was made up of men with the knowledge and experience to meet the requirements of the area in which they would work. There were many such work gangs created, and each gang was sent to work on farms in a particular area. The gang to which I was assigned was sent to the village of Guttenberg.

We were billeted in a building that was once the village school. All thirty of us were accommodated in a large room that was previously a classroom. There was only one doorway into the room and that was kept bolted, with armed guards stationed outside (there was one armed guard for every ten prisoners). All windows were sealed and barred to prevent any escape. Each prisoner was assigned their own bunk bed, containing a rather thin mattress and one blanket. This was to be our “home” for the time we worked in the village.

The working arrangements, as explained to us, were that we would continue to be the responsibility of the military. However, we would only be under the direct supervision of the military from the time we returned from work each night until we were escorted to our place of work in the morning. The people who owned the businesses, or the farmers themselves, were responsible for us at all other times. They were authorised to shoot us if we either stole anything, tried to escape or attempted anything with the women. Each morning, the guards would escort each of us to our place of work. At the end of each day, the business owners or farmers would escort us back to the school for the night. All of our food requirements such as breakfast, midday and evening meals would be catered for at the workplace. They would also supply clothing and footwear when it was required. Nothing was available for the prisoners at the billet at the school.

I was assigned to work on a farm owned by Jacob Sijben. The work was hard, but most of the farmers were reasonable men and understood that the prisoners could not do any more than they themselves could do. The meals I received were the same as those that Jacob and his family ate. However, I was not permitted to eat with them at their table. This was one of the many regulations issued by the authorities. From my personal experience, most of the farmers would have been happy to invite their assigned workers into their homes. Most of us had learned some German and so we could converse with them.

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