The kapo in charge of Little Camp was Jakob Kindinger, a tall German (6’2”), who carried a stout wooden club that the airmen would find he used on other prisoners at the slightest provocation. As a trusty, he had a black armband on his right sleeve. When he emerged from his “office,” he spoke with the SS guards briefly before they turned and left the compound. Kindinger and several prisoner-guards then escorted the airmen along a dirt road that led west, with low wooden buildings on either side.
The road they were on almost immediately crossed a second, smaller road that ran north-south. Turning right, the airmen passed through a gate in an internal fence and entering a fenced enclosure that contained three barracks buildings as well as other, smaller structures. Like everywhere else they had been at Buchenwald, the area was densely packed with prisoners. Some stood, some strolled, some squatted, and some lay on the ground, but all those nearby watched the new arrivals and their guards very closely. They were now in the quarantine area of Little Camp, where new arrivals spend days, weeks, or months awaiting final decisions on their fate.
The quarantine section was located near yet another internal fence-line that separated the barracks area from an area of open ground that contained five large tents. Other prisoners were milling around in the open area, but they kept well away from the new arrivals and their SS escort.62 It was inhospitable ground, some of it covered in cobblestones and the rest consisting of bare stony ground dusted with lime powder. There was no cover of any kind, other than a couple of scrawny trees at the far side of the enclosure, which offered little protection from the elements. To the east, beyond the fencing, they could see the factory complex they had passed on their way to arrival processing. It looked a few hundred yards away.
Kindinger was an old hand, having been imprisoned in Buchenwald for years, and he received better treatment in exchange for maintaining order and keeping other prisoners under control. Because he knew that the new arrivals were military personnel, he went out of his way to be very accommodating. He was aware that their goodwill could be valuable in terms of his status in the camp, and if the Allies ever triumphed, his survival when the camp was liberated. With one of his assistants translating, Kindinger directed the airmen to an open area by the fence to the east of the barracks buildings. There were already prisoners squatting and sitting in that area, but they soon moved on, albeit under duress. The airmen would have sole possession of this area, which they called the Rock Pile.
Before leaving the airmen to their own devices, Kindinger cautioned them that they could leave the quarantine area, but to stay within Little Camp. Several times each day, a roll-call, or Appell, would be held, and attendance was mandatory. They should at all times avoid approaching an SS guard without specific orders to do so. The guards would shoot anyone who approached unexpectedly. And if approached by a guard, they were to stand at attention and doff their caps. Failure to do so would risk being beaten or perhaps even executed.
Without the guards, there was no clear organization, and small groups were free to wander around. Fred, Sam, and a few others went exploring. Their goal was to explore the compound and get their bearings. Farther to the east, past the fence-line, was the factory complex located inside the boundary fencing of the main camp. On the other side of the western fence-line of Little Camp was a barn-like building. It had what appeared to be patriotic movie posters on the side, so perhaps it was a theatre. To the right of that building was an isolated enclosure containing a large tent with its sides lowered. To his surprise, Fred saw a young woman standing between the fencing and the tent, gazing toward Little Camp with a face devoid of expression. Beyond the enclosed tent was a roadway that ran roughly north-south. On the other side of the road were tents and ramshackle wooden huts, and a large stone building that they would later learn was the SS hospital.
They walked back the way they had come, strolling to the south, past the ends of two large barracks buildings that looked like horse stables. Through the open doors of these buildings, Fred could see prisoners lying on stacked shelves five layers high, like goods stored in a warehouse. He couldn’t imagine how many men could be crammed into each 150’ x 32’ building when packed like that.63
As they approached a third barracks building, Block 59, the fence jogged west, parallel to the side of the cinema. They now had the fence on their right and Block 58 on their left. It was slow going, because there were prisoners everywhere. The barracks were full, the roadside was filled with men squatting or sitting, and Fred thought that some looked like they’d never move again. Many of those still walking moved slowly, with glazed eyes and a shambling gait, but a significant number were alert enough to recognize the airmen as new arrivals. They were continually being asked for news of the war, for their backgrounds, and sometimes for help.
Suddenly, Fred realized they were in a cul de sac, with one of the interior fences blocking their path. They turned around and retraced their steps, this time continuing east until they reached the path they had used to enter the quarantine section of Little Camp. To the right of the entrance was a low stone building, which he now realized must be the latrine, or Abort, for this section. A small pile of corpses was stacked just outside the entrance. The ones at the bottom were swollen and decomposing, whereas the ones at the top looked relatively fresh.
While Fred stood speechless, struck by the implications of this scene, two French prisoners showed up pulling a small wooden cart. After taking the freshest corpses off the top of the pile and setting them aside, they loaded the rest onto the cart. Fred, whose French was passable, approached the workers and learned that that they spent their days doing rounds of the camp, collecting corpses, and delivering them to the crematorium. They could only fit a half-dozen or so bodies on the cart at each stop, so they always took the oldest and left the rest for another day.
The toilet was nearly as distressing as the corpse pile. It consisted of an open, concrete-lined pit, with a plank running along either side as a seat. With care, a prisoner could balance on the plank while defecating. The seating capacity was 15, and the planks were filled with a waiting line that ran outside. The smell was nauseating, and the air was filled with the buzzing of the flies that swarmed over the dead bodies, the foul ground, and the open cess pit.
There were no washbasins or even water troughs in the area. An upright pipe and faucet stood at one end of the latrine. A weak trickle of water was coming out, but as they watched, it slowed to a halt. The people using the latrine ignored it completely. That was very bad news. There was no water at the Rock Pile, and Fred knew that many of the airmen had been stricken with dysentery before they left Fresnes Prison. Without a reliable source of clean fresh water, they would all be sick in a matter of days. So one of their first priorities would have to be figuring out a way to collect whatever water was available and make it drinkable — even if that meant using the occasional weak trickle at the latrine.
They next turned to the south and passed through the interior fenceline to reach the main roadway within Little Camp. This dirt street started at a gate to the north-south road they had seen earlier. It ran east-west for perhaps 1,000’ with buildings on either side. Even with the crowd milling around, they could walk its entire length in ten minutes. Block 51, on the south side of the roadway near the western entry gate, was opposite Block 57. The boundary fence separating Little Camp from the main camp started along the south side of Block 51, but beyond it Fred could see a stone building enclosed by a double fence, with gates opening both to Little Camp and to the main camp. It was identified as Block 46. Fred wondered what went on there that would require such elaborate defenses and isolation from the rest of the camp.
From passing French prisoners, Fred learned they were on the Boulevard des Invalides (street of invalids), so called because it passed barracks used (1) for isolating tuberculosis cases (Block 53), (2) for a primitive infirmary (Block 54), (3) for prisoners weakened to the point of immobility (a portion of Block 56), and (4) for prisoner
s dying of severe dysentery (Block 61). That, Fred thought, explained the foul smell that lingered like a fog over that portion of Little Camp. The prisoners were too sick and weak to do anything other than lie in their own filth and wait for death to claim them.
As they walked back, passing the gate to the quarantine area, Fred could see that the small latrine within the quarantine area was continuous with the much larger latrine in the main portion of Little Camp. It had larger, deeper cess pits and seated many more prisoners, as it was the main toilet for prisoners in the Little Camp. It was not comforting to see that the pile of corpses near the entry was considerably larger than the one inside the quarantine area. They decided not to walk all the way to the end of Block 56 and 61. As soon as the smell became overpowering, they retraced their steps, returning to the Rock Pile to see if anything significant had happened in their absence.
The other airmen were standing around, talking quietly. Small clusters formed where men from the same aircrew, such as Fred and Sam, formed a nucleus that expanded to include contacts made while evading the Nazis.64 It was not uncommon for more than one member of an aircrew to be sheltered by the FFI and travel together thereafter. Airmen from several squadrons and bomb groups reconnected, comparing notes and finding friends in common. Fred and Sam found five other airmen from the 385th BG, and it was the largest number from any single unit. Each network was gradually expanding through contacts made in Fresnes Prison and during the boxcar ride to Germany. Somehow it helped to be among familiar people.
At around 2100, several trusty prisoners entered the compound carrying large pots that contained a thin broth. There was no meat in it and only a few wisps of unidentifiable plant material. They were also given several loaves of heavy black bread. Two of Kindinger’s minions distributed tin cups and wooden bowls, nowhere near enough to go around, and the airmen were starving, dispirited, and exhausted.
When the meager meal arrived, it triggered a chaotic free-for-all, with each hungry, thirsty airman desperate to get whatever he could. There was a lot of pushing and shoving, and some angry words were exchanged. Fortunately, everyone was too tired to do more than threaten violence. When all was said and done, Fred was fortunate enough to get a small chunk of the dark bread, which he wolfed down despite his sore jaw. His conclusion was that it was almost inedible. Sam and Paul managed to get a chunk of bread and a bowl with some broth, which they shared.65 Other airmen made the mistake of refusing the meal, spitting out the broth after tasting it. Some airmen saved their unappetizing bread, thinking that it might taste better when they were even hungrier, but a few discarded their bread in disgust. All were amazed to see fights break out among the other prisoners in the compound over possession of these discarded scraps.66
At twilight, it was clear that the airmen would not have shelter for the night, so the men spread out in search of places to sleep on the stony ground. The night was relatively cool, but not cold. There was little that could be done to improve their berthing situation, but where large or sharp rocks could be dug out they did so, and those without overshirts (“jackets”) or blankets made pillows out of pebbles and leaf litter. Stretching out on the ground, the exhausted airmen were soon sound asleep.
56 The crematorium could dispose of 400 bodies every 10 hours.
57 One of the selections was used in the soundtrack of the 1953 Disney movie The Living Desert. Fred left the room (or the house) when that movie was on TV, although he didn’t explain why until decades later.
58 The tree was called the Goethe Oak because the poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe supposedly sat under its limbs while writing a famous poem. The tree was preserved when the surrounding forest was cleared in 1937 to build the Buchenwald concentration camp.
59 In August 1944, the official prison population was approximately 82,000. That total included approximately 35,000 prisoners working in various satellite labor camps scattered around the area.
60 At this time, the most likely destinations were (1) the camp crematorium, (2) one of the extermination camps such as Auschwitz, or (3) the Mittelwerk.
61 German nouns are capitalized and will be shown in italics on introduction. Terms used frequently, such as kapo, will thereafter appear in normal font.
62 In August 1944, 13,000 new prisoners arrived in Little Camp. The number continued to increase, and Little Camp was expanded with additional barracks in December 1944.
63 These barracks routinely contained 750-1,000 prisoners, and sometimes more were crammed in. The numbering system for the barracks in this area changed when Little Camp expanded. At the time, the blocks Fred passed would have been 63 and 62.
64 The group included 86 airmen who had been collected from 28 downed bombers. Seven were from a single B-24 from the 489th BG. At the other end of the spectrum, eight airmen were the sole survivors of their bomber’s aircrew.
65 The recipe for the broth involved boiling 25 pounds of meat (of indeterminate origin) in 260 gallons of water. Assuming equal distribution and a serving of one quart per prisoner, each man would receive one-third ounce of meat, roughly two level teaspoons. The only variations in their diet were an occasional dollop of margarine for the bread, a small piece of sausage every other day, and either jam or honey (not both) once a week.
66 The official recipe for this bread, called Schwartzbrot, was 50% grain, 20% sliced sugar beets, 20% sawdust, and 10% minced leaves and straw.
CHAPTER 9
Adjustment
The First Week in Buchenwald
THE SECOND DAY
SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT, A GROUP of young gypsies who lived in Barrack 58 swarmed over the sleeping airmen, stealing anything that they could find. Jackets serving as pillows, hats, cached scraps of uneaten bread, food bowls — it was all fair game. The airmen, muddled by exhaustion, could do little to defend their meager possessions. It was a wake-up call in several respects, and Fred realized that in this environment, when dealing with other prisoners, there were no rules except those you could enforce. Despite their exhaustion, few of the airmen were able to return to sleep.
At 0515, Kindinger and his assistants were moving through Little Camp, rousing the prisoners. Shortly thereafter, four of the airmen, all sergeants, were selected and sent under guard to the camp kitchen. When they returned carrying small tubs, the airmen had their first chance to enjoy morning “coffee,” a thin, warm liquid flavored by passing boiling water through crushed acorns.67 The trusties gave the men some spare cups, which the airmen politely shared among themselves. In retrospect the chaos of the previous evening was embarrassing.
As dawn was breaking, Fred saw Lamason moving among the airmen, asking them to gather around so he could talk to everyone at once. There were 168 Allied airmen, so the process took some time, but eventually they were all seated within earshot. He started by acknowledging that they were in a bad spot and had no idea what the Jerries intended to do with them. But he reminded the airmen that they were military men and not criminals, and the distinction should be made abundantly clear to the Germans. He added that he was shocked by the free-for-all that developed when food was provided the previous night. Those who act like animals will be viewed as animals, and as no different from common criminals. No further lapses in judgement would be tolerated.
During the night, Lamason continued, he had discussed their situation with the other officers. As the senior officer, he was taking command moving forward, seconded by Captain Merle Larson, representing the US Air Corps, and Flight Lieutenant Thomas Blackham, representing the RAF. This morning, the airmen would be divided up into 17 squads of 8-10 airmen, with each group a potential aircrew in the event they were able to develop a viable escape plan. He reminded everyone that they were near a major city serviced by airfields.
From now on, when traveling together, they would march in military formation. Food distribution would be done squad by squad, and squads would be assigned to guard duty on a rotating basis. This would prevent further pilfering by other prisoners.
Lamason reminded them to avoid antagonizing the SS, and to avoid going anywhere alone, not even to the abort. Even in groups, they should be cautious, especially when outside of Little Camp. They had yet to understand the camp rules, and prisoners were often shot for breaking them. They were a force of 168 airmen, and every one was important. Finally, he said that nobody should try to escape independently. If and when they escaped, it would be together.
Fred felt like a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Suddenly there was clear organization, a survival plan, and even the tantalizing possibility of eventual escape. He wondered how the groups would be set up, and hoped he’d be assigned to the same team as Sam.68 That line of thought was interrupted by the call, “Raus! Appell! Mach schnell!” The airman quickly got to their feet, but rather than rushing en masse toward the call, they formed lines and marched as a group to a position opposite the entry to their subsection of Little Camp. The other prisoners who had spent the night in the open hastened to form their own lines under the eyes of the Lager ältester. Fred was not surprised by the sight of prisoners being assisted or even carried to the Appellplatz (roll-call square). He was, however, amazed and horrified to see that there were pairs of prisoners carrying corpses. The dead as well as the living apparently had to be counted.
As a group of SS guards entered the compound, the command “Mützen ab!” (Hats off!) was given, and the prisoners removed their hats and stood at attention. With their clubs and their clipboards, the guards moved along the lines of assembled prisoners, doing their tallies. The first counting was relatively desultory, and after only an hour and a half, the SS guards left the compound, and Kindinger gave the command “Mützen auf!” (Hats on!). The bodies of the dead were carried off to stack by the abort, and the rest of the prisoners dispersed. The airmen remained together, and the next couple of hours were spent forming the squads and making plans.
Betrayed: Secrecy, Lies, and Consequences Page 14