Eyewitness Testimony Gaston Claeys

"If they had fed us what my mother would prepare for the pigs, we would have been very happy." Gaston Claeys The Claeys family suffered enormously during the Second World War. Gaston's father died in 1939, leaving his mother with her five sons. Only one of them was able to stay with his mother on the farm during the war. The eldest was imprisoned for six months, the youngest died during the war. Gaston and Andre were arrested and deported to Kahla for forced labor. Fortunately, the eldest brother, as well as Gaston and Andre, returned home alive. "Since June 15th, I had been in hiding. During the day I worked on a farm near Lotenhulle, and at night I slept in various places, except at home. This way of life worked quite well for 14 months." "On August 18, 1944, I was picking apples with my brother (who was also hiding from the Germans) when we suddenly heard that the Gestapo was in the neighborhood. It was not the first time they had come by; during harvest times and at night it was very dangerous." "On the roadside, students were digging holes and they gave us a sign that the Gestapo was on patrol. However, it was too late: the entire orchard was surrounded." "My brother and I ran away, each in a different direction. They caught my brother first. I ran in circles until they finally caught me too." "By the way, the Gestapo man who arrested us was Flemish." Anyway, Gaston had enough hiding places on his parents' farm where they would never have found him. He could not risk retaliation against one of his older brothers who had not been forced to leave and work in Germany. However, it would not have been the first time a family member was imprisoned for retaliation. "If they had fed us what my mother would prepare for the pigs, we would have been very happy." "A car took us to the Reich Command in Deinze, where we spent the night." "From there, they took us to the city prison of Ghent, called 'het Rolleke' at that time. Some family members brought me a suitcase with toasted bread (because it could be preserved very well), food, clothes, and tobacco." "Later we were transported to the barracks in Etterbeek, from where a train took us to Germany." "On August 24 we left, and on August 26 we reached our final destination." "We arrived in Orlamünde, where we got food for the first time: potatoes. Nobody wanted them; at that time we were not really hungry yet and we still had food from home in our luggage. We gave our rations to the Russians, who gratefully accepted them." "Our first place of stay was Kleindembach. It was an old porcelain factory; we slept on straw on the concrete floor. To get to work, we had to take the train to Orlamünde, from where we had to walk up the mountain." "After more than two months, we were moved to Camp 7 in Leubengrund. There we lived in wooden barracks, but the regime was much stricter than in Kleindembach. The camp leader was inhuman, he was a real 'pig.' I remember very well that he came into our barrack and started shooting around like a farmer shooting at pigeons, just because the light was still on. Fortunately, no one was injured." "While we were in Leubengrund, we had to walk seven kilometers to work and another seven kilometers back to our barracks every day. Each time we crossed a small bridge over the Saale river. Adding twelve more hours of work at the end of the daily 'walk' and the lack of food, one will undoubtedly understand that it was a real fight for survival." "In early January, we were transferred to Camp E, where it was just as bad as in Camp 7." "We barely got any food; only about a liter of watery soup and a piece of bread. The few times we got cooked potatoes, for example at Christmas, we welcomed it like a real celebration." "If we had gotten pig feed in Kahla, we would have been very happy." "If our life had depended on this miserable food, it would have been over quickly. With the will to survive, we had to look out for extra meals." Gaston Claeys "If they had fed us what my mother would prepare for the pigs, we would have been very happy." While Gaston was still in Leubengrund, he and a few other men once ate a cat they caught on the way home from work. They prepared it and he can confirm that it did not taste bad at all; it tasted somewhat like rabbit. "Besides that, I worked for German civilians in exchange for a little food." "Once I escaped the column on the way to work and helped a farmer collect potatoes. As 'payment' I got a few potatoes that I could bring back to the camp." "I also worked one day in a kind of shoe factory. As payment, I got a few noodles. A field gendarme noticed me but did not hit me: I left there very happy." "I traded tobacco that I got from home for bread. I did this during work, where I traded with a few Germans who worked there. Unfortunately, I did not have much tobacco. Those who had tobacco could consider themselves rich there." "The guards often inspected the barracks. If they found, for example, potatoes, they considered it theft and that could have very serious consequences. Much depended on the whims of the guards." Gaston worked in different places. "I had to saw spruce where the railway tracks were to be built. I also had to drill tunnels and load carts with rock pieces, but not for long. After that, I had to work on the top of the mountain, repairing the crane." He was not spared from illness either. "In Camp E I got sick, typhus and diarrhea. I also spent some time in the hospital camp, but I do not remember very well. On one of the memory trips to Kahla, a former nurse from the hospital was also there; he had a list with the names of people who had once been in the hospital. My name apparently was also on the list. I apparently spent eight days there."The nurse could not do very much; there was not much more than a little carbon to stop the diarrhea, medicine was not available. To make matters worse, the food rations were cut in half; those who did not work did not have to eat either. Gaston was happy to do so because it was no pleasure to lie in the sick bay. rr OG Ste "If they had fed us what my mother would prepare for the pigs, we would have been very happy." "Once, when I was working alone in Kahla, I spoke with a Russian. In Russia, he had been an accountant and could also speak a few words of German. The Germans told us that the Russians worked here voluntarily; however, this man told me that they were captured and driven into columns. Those who could no longer continue were shot on the spot." "Fortunately, I still had a few clothes and shoes from home. In Kahla, I still had two more pairs of shoes; one pair new and one pair old (which probably belonged to a dead person)." This cruel time also ended for Gaston. "Around April 10th, I was sent out of the camp. I remember that I walked with my suitcase, which I already had when I left Belgium. I tied a knot around my waist and dragged it behind me." "I reached Camp 6, where I slept on the side of a small cupboard." "In Camp 6, we were liberated by the Americans. After our liberation, we were visited by a chaplain who held a mass outdoors; those who wanted could attend." "They took us from Camp 6 and brought us to the barracks in Jena, where we stayed a few days until they had enough souls together to fill a train that would take us via Namur to Brussels. Near Namur, the 'Blacks' were removed." "From Brussels, I reached Ghent. In the meantime, I had sent a telegram to my family, who were already eagerly awaiting me." "On April 28th, I finally arrived home; I weighed only 52 kilos." Gaston is 1.70 m tall. "Later, I organized a parade for myself and my brother. It went around the community, and in the evening a dance event was organized." Gaston arrived home with tuberculosis and was therefore unable to work for the rest of the year. He will never forget the time in Kahla. During the memorial trips, he carries the flag of the circle of friends of the "Escaped from the E-Camp from Kahla." Ум бе