Z. P. Gulyaev – Kahla

The main punishment used was the whip. The German workers and the administration behaved relatively normally. The older German women in the civilian population sometimes gave us food when we asked, but they were afraid of being punished themselves. Women, especially those who had husbands or sons at the front or in captivity, helped us – perhaps they hoped that the same would happen to their relatives. Sometimes one worked for food, but no one openly showed help; they were all cautious. The civilian population did not participate in punishments. I do not remember any Germans who helped us particularly; everyone treated us the same. None of us tried to escape – we did not know where to go or where one could hide. If someone was sick, they were sent to another camp – I no longer know which one. No one came back. There was no infirmary or anything like that in the camp. Many people died in the camp, and for a certain time I myself buried people from my camp. We could not cope because so many died, mostly the Italians. Once we wanted to bury a countryman in a coffin, but we did not receive permission, so there were only mass graves – 30 people in a row. In the last days of the war, we were all driven somewhere in the evening, but I was able to escape on the way and hid in the forest. I stayed there for five days, then we wanted to return to the camp. On the way, we met Americans who told us we were free and gave us food. I then returned to the camp for one or two months. Whether people were arrested after liberation, I do not know, as I was not in the camp at that time. I was liberated on April 14, 1945, then worked in (Grachenberg, Drakenberg) or similar in a sugar factory from July to October 1945. I was also involved in the harvest. Then I returned to Belarus, but not directly home, first to the mines in Donbass, where I stayed for almost a year. At the end of 1946, shortly before New Year, I then came home. • Gulâevoj, Z. P., questionnaire mediated by the Belorussian Republican Foundation "Vzaimoponimanie i Primirenie" [Belarusian Republican Foundation "Understanding and Reconciliation"]. Гуляевой (вa?) З. П. Gulâevoj, Z. P. I was born on July 1, 1926, in a peasant family in Kobylyaki, Orsha district, Vitebsk region. The Germans burned our house in 1943, and we lived with neighbors. My father died in the war; he was 36 years old and was drafted in 1941 – and did not return. I often hid, but on April 13, 1943 (or 44 – unclear what she meant) I was taken out of bed at 4 a.m. On April 14, we were transported by freight train to Germany, Freienorla in Thuringia. There I worked for two months on the construction of the road to the factory. I was in the Freienorla camp, and on the other side of Orla was the men's camp Stern. I then got work in the kitchen of the Stern camp; I received work clothes – normal work clothes. Once we were given food in the kitchen, and then we organized/distributed something ourselves. We were all young, 20 girls in one room with bunk beds. We waited for liberation, cried, and were afraid. The factory was about 2 to 3 kilometers from the camp. There were no roll calls. Our work was supervised and controlled by the cooks. The supervisors behaved normally. For our wages, we could drink kvass (probably beer M.B.). I only worked in the kitchen; that was enough work. We cleaned vegetables, washed dishes and floors, carried away garbage – the food was prepared by two cooks. We were young and worked well because we were afraid of being beaten. There was no contact with home; I received a package once. We were not allowed to move freely. We had no contact with workers of other nationalities; in the kitchen worked girls from Belarus and two Russian women. There were no children in the camp – we were still children ourselves. I do not know the nationality of the guards; they did not report it. There were no informers among us. I do not know if parts of the food or mail were embezzled. Letters were very rare. I witnessed mistreatment once; the victim was a young lad. Our camp was only half of the building; the men were in the other half. Once I saw a young man being whipped, but I do not know why. I do not remember camp rules or judges. The German workers and camp administration behaved normally towards us. We had no contact with the local population. There were also Germans who treated prisoners humanely and helped them. There were no escapes from the camp. At the end of the war, we scattered as best we could and later found each other again. We stayed in our camp until August, then our army brought us back home. I know nothing about arrests among the camp staff. At home, we were despised and given no work. I finished the 8th grade in 1941, and after the war, I attended vocational school and then worked on an animal farm, then I attended a vocational school for auto mechanics in Rostov-on-Don and then worked for 40 years in the system. I married and had two children. My husband died tragically in 1972. My son became ill at 18 and is disabled; he lives with me. I am 81 years old and sick and very weak – I apologize for my poor handwriting; I have been writing for three days and wish you much success in science.