Irena Koper - joint report with Zdzislaw Koper

Irena and Zdzislaw Koper report the following: We arrived at the Kahla camp after the Warsaw Uprising. We were transported by the SS in a brutal manner in cattle wagons. We were in transit camps in Breslau, near Berlin, and Erfurt. We were guarded to prevent any contact with the German population. Incidentally, the Germans feared contact with Poles. We arrived at the Kahla camp on November 2, 1944. My husband and I were placed in Camp I together with citizens of the Soviet Union. While my husband worked for the company "Ing. Kämmerer Bauunternehmen Erfurt" on the construction of a concrete bridge, I was employed by the company Otto Quade, railway – deep – concrete and road construction. Camp I was guarded by Germans, Flemings, and Ukrainians, particularly brutal people. We were led to work by column leaders, Germans in civilian clothes. At the construction site, we were guarded by workers, foremen, and SA members, who occasionally had members of the Hitler Youth to assist them. Sometimes dogs were also used. The entire REIMAHG area was strictly guarded by the SS. Most people died from weakness due to poor nutrition, from beatings and torture. There was no organized resistance movement in Kahla. The Poles organized themselves spontaneously, coordinated their behavior, slow work (the so-called snail system). A few days before the arrival of the Allies, we were driven out of the barracks at night, which were surrounded by guards, and chased towards Pößneck. We were beaten and pushed. Especially in the early morning hours near Pößneck, the prisoners were treated terribly. On the one hand, a relaxation of discipline among the Germans was noticeable, on the other hand, the remaining guards intensified their sadism. Among other things, my husband was severely beaten. Several of us fell into a ditch, and we were threatened with execution. In Pößneck, we were surprised by an air raid alarm. The guards fired, and shots were returned from the planes. Taking advantage of the confusion, my husband and I escaped from the transport and reached the village of Grobengereut?, Henkelshof settlement, where the Allies arrived shortly thereafter. The farm owner, the German Henkel, allowed us to stay for several weeks. The other Poles from the transport were taken to a transit camp in Pößneck. After the Potsdam Agreement and the occupation of Thuringia by the Red Army, we returned to our country with other Poles from the Willplecken camp on August 18, 1945.