Paul's Sentimental Journey |
|
The March In the final days of the war the Germans
started to dismantle the prison camps. In the beginning of April 1945 the
Germans led thousands of POW’s from Stalag 17B on a 300 mile march to a
“new” camp in Braunau During their march they were coming near the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. A column of people were coming towards the POW’s at a very slow pace. The POW guards pulled the POWs off to the side of the road. The guards instructed the prisoners in no uncertain terms that if they to tried to talk or pass anything to the people that were going to pass by they would be shot! This was not what usually happened. Before when they passed a group of people the men would try to talk to them with only a stern warning or a cuff with a rifle butt for their discretion. This time the guards meant business don’t talk or do anything to the people who were going to pass by. As the column slowly approached they got their answer of why they were not to have anything to do with the people. First the POW’s saw the infamous
and brutal SS troops followed by the most pitiful sight. They were Jewish
prisoners. You could tell they were
Jewish by the big yellow Star of David attached to the rags that they had for
clothes. These living skeletons of men were trying to hold each other up as they
plodded along. Many did not have
shoes, hats or anything on that would protect them from the harsh cold of
winter. The POWs just stood there with their hearts going out to these wretched
poor souls as they passed by. It sicken the POWs that they could not do anything
to help these ill-fated prisoners. As the POWs resumed their march they saw strewn along the side of the road the bodies of the Jews who could not go on. The POWs said a prayer not for the dead along the road (as they had been released from their mortal misery) but for the others who still had to endure the suffering agony of torture from the SS troops. What little the Jewish prisoners had in the way of covering from the elements, they gave up to respect and cover their dead. To
be continued...
|