Today’s Relentless Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
On March 16, 1945, the Nazis liquidated the death camp at Spaichingen, located in southwestern Germany, about twenty miles north of the Swiss border. Joseph Freeman and thousands of other inmates began a six-week death march ordeal that ended in the city of Fussen in southern Germany. Joseph’s story is documented in the book The Road To Hell: Recollections of the Nazi Death March. The following is a brief excerpt from the book, discussing the seventh day on the road.
March 22nd, a full week since we were forced on the march. As far as the eyes can see there was a parade of miserable humanity moving silently on the road, moving without an end. We were surrounded on both sides by the SS. Snow covered the ditches on both sides of the highway. I turned to my friend, silently pointing out the snow with a shake of my head. He understood me. Quickly, Chaim and I bent down and grabbed handfuls of snow and put it quickly in our pants. It was done so fast that the SS did not notice it. I was so thirsty I had forgotten my earlier painful experience with swallowing snow. Each of us grabbed a handful of snow from our pockets, and tried to gobble it down our parched throats. My mouth was dry; I could not move my jaws. I had tears in my eyes trying to swallow the snow. I kept it in my mouth until it melted. Finally, as the snow turned to water, I pushed it down my throat and swallowed. It was very difficult. It was so painful. At last we had a few sucks of water. With the rest of the snow we wet our faces and hands. As we looked back we saw some of our group slowly bending down trying to pick up the snow. The SS caught them and started hitting them with the butts of their rifles, forcing them to throw away the snow which some were still holding in their hands.
The SS pushed some of the stragglers back into line. We had been slowing down. Some of us had to support others. We started to lean on one another, holding each other’s arms. We started to move out from the line, going in groups of two and three. The SS did not care as long as we kept on moving. But as soon as someone stopped, the SS started to hit them and forced them to move on. There was no rest. The sun came out. It was getting a little warmer. The shirt on my back started to smell and become glued to my skin. We had been walking on the road for two, maybe three hours. Some of us could no longer walk. The SS stepped in, hitting us with the butts of their guns. Even still, some of us could not take another step. The SS turned the dogs on these helpless victims. The wailing of the inmates was terrifying as the dogs bit and ripped into their clothes and their flesh.
At first we tried to support one another. But we were too weak and tired and could no longer help the falling people. The crying of the people, the screaming voices of the SS, and the barking of the dogs filled us with despair. With so many injured and exhausted inmates lying on the road, it became difficult to move and we started to push one another. This angered the SS further, and they started to attack us. Suddenly, a miracle happened. Airplanes appeared on the horizon, flying toward us at an abnormal speed. They were coming closer and closer. Our marching column broke into panic. People ran to the side of the road, pushing one another, making terrible noises, running for cover. The SS too fled from the road. I grabbed Chaim by the hand and we dove into some bushes at the side of the road. Everything was moving so fast. We lifted our heads and saw falling bombs ripping and cutting into pieces the group of cars at the head of our column. The noise of the exploding bombs was very scary. It was a terrifying scene, with mangled bodies littering the road. There were so many wounded crying for help.
The attack was over in seconds. The airplanes disappeared and left only destruction in their wake. We sat and watched, afraid to move. After a short time the SS returned. First, they inspected the wrecked cars at the front of the column. Then they inspected the remains of whatever was lying on the ground. They went to the side of the road, talking and arguing. We saw that the Unterschutfuehrer (non-commissioned officer) from our group was shouting orders. He was now in command, the highest ranking of the surviving SS. We stood and waited amid the dead and wounded lying on the road. Male nurses from our camp seemed to come from nowhere to move the wounded to the side of the road, and to pile corpses in another place. A group of SS left the road to search for anyone who had run away. Led by their dogs, the SS were running in all directions, looking for escapees. Then from far away, we heard shots. The SS captured some inmates who were immediately set upon by the dogs who ripped into their flesh. The SS pushed these bleeding prisoners and forced them to join our group. We now knew what would happen to us if we tried to escape.
We were again organized into groups of hundreds and we started to walk in formation, leaving our dead and wounded behind. We moved onto small side roads and walked until evening. This was the first time in our journey when so many people had been killed. The SS led us onto a large fields with a storage building, open on both sides. This was our resting place for the night. It was impossible to understand how we could possibly go on, freezing at night, constantly hungry, unable to wash or change our clothes. Lice started to appear on our bodies. At first it didn’t bother us, but as time passed the lice started to eat our flesh. I took off my shirt and cleaned off the insects but after awhile I didn’t care anymore. The hunger and cold was inflicting more pain than the insects. I got used to them. But the cold and especially the hunger was so bad that I thought I was going crazy. Our stomachs became swollen after a week of drinking snow from the side of the road. As we lay on the frozen ground at night trying to sleep, we got cramps and our stomachs made strange gurgling noises. I bit my lip from pain and I was constantly shivering and crying.
The morning following the air raid I could not find our Lagerelder. He had fled during the confusion of the attack. From now on the SS took over our group, or what was left of us. The Kapos were no longer in charge; now the SS would shout orders directly at us. We had to obey them quickly. But these masters of our destiny were, too, losing their resolve. At times we saw some of them take off, disappearing from the side of the road.
Nazi Death March
Culled from: The Road To Hell: Recollections of the Nazi Death March
Post-Mortem Portrait Du Jour!
FATHER PROPS HIS BABY GIRL
Daguerreotype 1/6 Plate, Circa 1853
Culled from: Sleeping Beauty III
Andersonville Prisoner Diary Entry Du Jour!
This is the continuation of the 1864 diary of Andersonville prisoner Private George A. Hitchcock (see the archived version for all entries up until now).
Here’s today’s entry:
June 29th. A soldier from Ohio, who lay sick with fever within arm’s-length of me, died in the night. Showers in the afternoon. Rations to-night two quarts of meal. It has been found that the outlaws in camp have formed a league, styling themselves “the raiders,” and for the past two days matters have come to a terrible state. Two men murdered, one thrown into a deep well, and many knocked on the head and plundered, generally new arrivals, known to have money, watches, or other valuables. The rebel authorities have allowed the prisoners to form a police organization of several hundred men, who are armed with clubs and are hunting up the desperadoes. The afternoon has been one of great excitement, as twenty or thirty of the raiders have already been secured and sent out.
Culled from: Andersonville: Giving Up the Ghost