Testimony

Andre Cools – Walpersberg / Kahla

"At the beginning of April, I saw them bring 27 dead men into the death barrack." "Then the Germans took us to Etterbeek, from where we departed in a passenger train, in third class. In Schaerbeek, we had an accident. The final destination was Kahla." "On August 12, we reached Kahla. Accompanied by soldiers, we walked from the station to Camp E. We had to take part of our luggage with us; the rest was brought later with the laser. We were happy because later we heard that the groups before and after us were searched for tobacco and food; they could only keep their clothes." "When we arrived at Camp E, there were only three barracks where 1,350 men had to find shelter. We slept with 54 other men in one room; we were forced to take our suitcases to bed with us. Those who found no place—the majority—slept outside." "A room in a barrack measured six to eight meters and contained twelve bunk beds. So 24 men could fit there. In the room where I was when the camp was fully built, we built a chimney out of clay earth. There was still some space for one, but it was not yet standing." "August 15 was my first working day. In the morning, we had to go to Kleineutersdorf to get our IDs; in the afternoon, we were sent to work." "My first task was to saw spruces, level earth, and build barracks at the place where later Camp 3 was to stand. At that time, I worked for the 'Arbeitsgemeinschaft Jena.' In those days, we only got a bowl of soup in the afternoon; but that lasted only five weeks." "In December (around Christmas), I was employed by the company Keimbetonwerke for the construction of large bunkers located under a mountain. I worked there until the end of February." "I associate Keimbeton with being forced to pour concrete for 36 hours straight; Sauckel came, and the work had to be done. Our shift worked from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Because we had worked two days, we got two food cards. But when we reached the camp after 36 hours, there was no food left, and we waited another day for our liter of soup and 150 grams of bread." "They treated us worse than animals." "Then I worked three days for the company Bohm. During those days, an SS man came to me and said: 'I see you are a craftsman, and I am looking for a carpenter.' So I came to the company 'Bishop-Fishers-Coditz-Tode.' Here I had to hammer arches to support the tunnels." "At the beginning of April, I saw them bring 27 dead men into the death barrack." Andre Cools On a sunny day in July, I arrive around 9 a.m. at Andre Cools' place in Wingene. Although he still has a lot of work to do on his land, he takes time for me. Andre thinks it is high time that some testimonies about the workers' camps of Kahla are written down; the thousands of dead should not be forgotten. "I had lived underground for more than 18 months. Forced labor in Germany was demanded of me as well. However, I did not go to Germany. During those 18 months, I slept everywhere but at home." "Until August 6. I still remember very well; it was the night from Saturday to Sunday. I came home around 10:30 p.m. (to Eegern, near Tielt); by 11:30 p.m., the whole place was surrounded, and I was arrested. At that time, a fascist lived in our neighborhood, and I am quite sure he betrayed me." After the war, Andre heard that the man was dead. We would say it was God's punishment. "They took me to the prison in Tielt. From there, they transported me the following Thursday to Roeselaere, where I tried to escape. A woman and her daughter, who had lived in our neighborhood, visited me and brought some women's clothes. It was planned that I would flee in these clothes, but someone raised the alarm, so it was very difficult to escape." "Besides the clothes, they also brought me 14 kilograms of tobacco and a shoe box filled with cigarillos. That saved my life in Kahla." "I stayed in Roeselaere from August 9 to 11." In Belgium, a German guard told the prisoners that they would be taken to the surroundings of Weimar, to the Thuringian Forest, and that it was very beautiful there. However, I did not notice any of that, said Andre. "At the beginning of April, I saw them bring 27 dead men into the death barrack." "During this work, we had a German overseer who started beating people without reason; the Russians were beaten the most. Once he tried to hit me, but he missed and injured himself on his truck, which transported hard rock. I feared retaliation; we had to get rid of this guard. A little later, the scaffolding supporting the tunnels had to be removed. I had armed myself with a heavy pickaxe, and during an 'accident,' it fell from my hand just as the guard passed by. The pickaxe fell on his shoulder. We never saw him again, and he did not harm me because I still had all my tools. I could consider myself lucky." "What we experienced in Kahla bordered on the unbelievable." "I had 14 kilos of tobacco and a box full of cigarillos. They saved me, and yet I weighed only 46 kilograms at liberation, 51 upon my return." When he left for Kahla, Andre weighed 74 kilograms. Despite the tobacco he could trade for bread, he lost 28 kilos in only eight months. Andre is 1.73 m tall. "If you had to live on your ration, you were lost. We only got one liter of watery soup and 150 grams of bread per day." "In the factory, I tried to trade tobacco for bread. At that moment, a truck came to deliver concrete. You had to make your request. I was smoking a pipe; so I crawled into the driver's cabin and lit the pipe so that he could smell the tobacco. And yes, he smoked too but had no tobacco with him. So I could once again trade tobacco for bread. He gave me a whole loaf.""In our room in the barracks, I shared the food. It is not right that one person has food while the others starve. Once I was able to get some bread cards for civilians, with which I got bread in the village. On the way back, I saw the police approaching. I fled into the bushes; at that moment I was already in the forest behind Camp E. There I slipped, fell, and ended up behind the barracks where I slept. Just as I wanted to enter the barracks, I noticed that the guards were making their rounds. I found shelter on the roof of the barracks, on the side of the forest. My comrades said that I had the night shift. Everyone was glad it was over and our room could eat bread and sausages." The longer we were there, the more deaths had to be mourned. The harsh winter months, the lack of food and hygiene, the long working days, and the mistreatment were the main reasons for this. "Someone who got typhus was dead in five days. You could see how a strong lad became nothing." Andre Cools