Defying Death on the Danube: A Holocaust Survival Story by Debbie J. Callahan & Henry Stern

Author:Debbie J. Callahan & Henry Stern [Callahan, Debbie J. & Stern, Henry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History
ISBN: 9789493231429
Google: nteWzgEACAAJ
Amazon: 9493231410
Goodreads: 57881687
Publisher: Amsterdam Publishers
Published: 2021-03-15T15:03:53.877668+00:00

18

Everyone Loves a Man in Uniform

Horst put in his application for the police job and got accepted. Naturally, as the youngest member, he got the graveyard shift but it was surprisingly easier than he thought it would be. There were always two on duty at the gate and nothing much happened at night. They switched every two hours. He would “curl up and take a snooze,” and then the other guy would do the same. Before they knew it, it was morning again. Three eight-hour shifts, rotating every other week kept him out of trouble, for a while at least.

Horst appreciated that uniforms were supplied by the camps for this position. They were American uniforms that had been dyed black and, according to him, were rather sharp-looking with an International Rescue Organization (IRO is the organization that replaced the UNNRA) emblem stenciled on the sleeve of the shirt and jacket. A cap was also included, which was worn at a tilt. Most especially, Horst appreciated the effect that the uniforms had on the girls. Some things never change and he points out that women lose their minds when it comes to men in uniforms.

But the uniform was almost his undoing. It started quite innocently. Their DP camp was in the American sector and the Russian zone was less than two miles from it. At the end of the war, Germany was divided amongst the Allies at the time. Part went to France, another part became the English zone, another part went to the Russians, and part became the American zone. Berlin, the former capital city of Germany, was divided amongst the four powers, into sectors. There was no border between the American and Russian zones and anyone could pass back and forth without difficulty. Horst had been into the Russian zone of Berlin quite a few times over the course of three weeks because he had a formed a relationship with a beautiful fräulein, who he met in one the hangouts he used to frequent. After a night out on the town he took her home to her place as he had done previously and stayed the night.

Late into the evening there was a loud knock on the front door, which they tried to ignore. All of a sudden, the door flew off its hinges and three Vopos, the East Berlin police force, burst in, yelling. They were warned not to move and to hold their hands up. They shone a strong beam from a flashlight on the unsuspecting couple. The police instructed Horst to get out of bed nice and slowly, and instructed the Fräulein to stay where she was. It was the stuff that nightmares were made of.

Horst was told to get dressed and when he finished he was handcuffed and escorted down the stairs. Before he could comprehend what was really happening, he was sitting in a speeding car, siren blaring. After the car stopped, he was taken out and escorted into a building. Someone removed his

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