We Stormed the Reichstag by Vassili Subbotin

Author:Vassili Subbotin [Subbotin, Vassili]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2017-03-30T05:00:00+00:00

Encounter

It had become quieter and we found our way around eventually up the unending stairs and through the passages. It was light in the big conference room that was capped by the dome. The dome was holed and one could see the sky. There were stones and bricks lying on the floor, a confused mess.

Through a dark corridor, which was packed full of knightly armour, one came to a part of the building that had not been damaged by fire. Here too the walls were full of holes and it smelled of burning. An old submachine-gunner was sitting in a sumptuous leather chair. He was dirty and unshaven, not having had time to clean himself up. But the submachine-gun leaning on his chair was clean. He had a thick papirosa cigarette between his teeth.

He stretched out in his chair and I asked: ‘How are you?’

‘Fine. I’m sitting in the Reichstag.’

He looked at me smiling. He knew what it meant, that he was sitting in the Reichstag and he could imagine how he looked in this chair with his torn cap and faded uniform.

‘I am sitting here.’

His smile seemed unfamiliar to me, and then I recognized him. He was the company clerk Garkusha, an old acquaintance of mine. A year-and-a-half ago, in the winter of 1943/44 – in the Kalinin area – he had participated in an attack on a Fascist position. Yes there were clerks like this! He too had recognized me. And now he was sitting in the Reichstag, Grigori Garkusha.

I went out into the square. It was warm, sunny and clear. There were some tattered trees near the entrance.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.