| 43B CAHIER-2 Vervolg |
blz 105 |
In the evening I went to W.M. A small fellow with a very melancholy
face and eyes so sad as if they never could forget the misery they saw.
A fine and a real good fellow. He made his excuse he walked on his socks
"I wetted my shoes while pulling a child out of the water this
afternoon." His room full of drawings and paintings, nice things.
"I am a bit of an amator myself. After our conversation he showed
me his workroom, only a few, but real fine things: ingang van de kooi,
twee boeketten, waarvan de eene fonkelend, prachtig teer en kleurig,
moerasbloemen. "I had a more paintings, but I gave them to those
who were witness of my arrestation. I thought I should never come back,
I feared the worst. I did not like my things to be taken by the huns, I
liked them to be in friendly hands."
He gave me every information I wanted, though I said to him: "Perhaps
I will ask you questions you don't like to answer, then just keep silent,
I understand that."
"I tell to you what I did not tell, in fact what I promised not to
tell to others, but it may come usefull for a fellow-prisoner."
"I promise you I won't talk about it."
"I trust you. In Zwolle a fellow who talked after being set free,
was captured again, and for my life I would not return to there."
He delivered his tale, staring mostly in front of him, now and then
turning to me when I put a question. He spoke in a soft, low voice,
without any passion, one might almost say a patient voice. "The
worst was not what they did to us, but what we had to witness they did
to others." The call every morning - the Jews in front of them,
standing in the opposite square - when one was failing, they had to
stand and wait till he was found, though it were for a whole day. (Sometimes
for a fellow who only woke not in time.) Those who were ill and had to
go to the docter, still had first to attend the call.
One day those from Overijssel and G. had to step out - for liberty - the
Jews also. They let them wait for hours inside the gate aand when they
were allowed to walk outside to liberty, the Jews had to stay behind.
He at first had to work very hard, carrying stones and bricks, but soon
learned the trick of pretending to work. "Work with your eyes,
beware of the white mice." Ph. has a factory there where they have
to make safety-razors, radio-app. and pocket-lanterns. One safety-razor
in three days at most. The people who did not work and were caught in
the fact, were whipped and hushed{?}.
{vel 46}
"You must not suppose you are in a boarding house here."
The man who served first in Dachau, Ommen, Amersfoort, a murderer, set
free to work on the prisoners, a real failbird. A certain day several of
the prisoners who wore spectacles, lost them, they did not know how, in
the night. The next day, mister Oswald was reading a paper, spectacles
on nose. M. wondered, had never seen him wear spect. and these looked
queer. In fact, there were no glasses in them. One of the officials
persued{?} it also, and put his fingers through. Osward {Oswald?} wanted
to give himself a learned air; he did not realise the use of the glasses.
One of the spec-owners who lost his property and went to him to protest,
Oswald then offered another pair of spec. without glasses: now you can
see again. In the barracks room for 75, slept often with 150, beds 3
rows high.
The day began at four o'clock, getting up, washing, eating half of the
piece of dry bread they got the night before. Gymnastics, at six the
call. After that, some people went to their work, some were required for
work, the rest went back to the barracks. The overseeer wanted to sleep,
so nobody could talk, and most of the men tried to sleep sitting by the
table, head in hands. At twelve, second call - not for those who worked
at Philips - , dinner, consisting of soup - water with cabbage and
potatoes - Eintopfgericht: cabbage and potatoes mashed, the potatoes bad
and rotten. R. said: "when I come home, I will pull out all the
cabbage in the garden" and M. said he could not eat any cabb. the
first weeks he was back. The german docter who gave them sauerkraut to
make their health better, to make them stronger. It was awfull "I
could not swallow it." The beadle of Zwolle who swallowed all the
others left, came back in excellent spirits and immediately to his work!
In the afternoon work - or dozing - again, the evening call, after that
the packages, if any -
|