Eyewitness Testimony Michael Hübner

Interview and conversation with Hübner, Michael, certified mechanic (22.01.07) He was born on 16.11.1929. At the time of his deployment, he lived with his grandmother in Weimar and attended the secondary school for boys in a preparatory form; his parents were in the Thuringian Forest (Bennewitz). Many driving students attended this school, which is probably why they were not used for flak duty (his assumption). About 6 students from his class, approximately 60 people from the entire school, were deployed; from the secondary school, 3 classes, and from the gymnasium at least 3 classes. They met in the morning at the train station and traveled by special train. The deployment took place in November 1944, on the 2nd, 3rd, as well as the 6th and 7th of November 1944 – it was a war deployment of the Hitler Youth (see letter), among the boys was also, so it was said, a son of Sauckel; in total, according to the letter, about 350 from Weimar, 1200 in total. According to his memory, they went every day by train to Kahla, then marched on foot via Großeutersdorf to the Walpersberg. Departure was at 5 a.m., 7 a.m. Kahla, 8 a.m. construction site. According to his memory, work ended at 4:30 p.m., and around 6:45 p.m. they were back in Weimar (also confirmed by the letter). The march distance was about 3 to 4 kilometers. He recalls that they shoveled earth and felled trees – equipment was provided on site. The excavation was loaded onto carts for dumping. They worked together with foreigners. The lunch break lasted about 1 hour. Actually, there was an order to bring construction equipment, but only some possibly did so on the first day; then there was material on site (where much was available). It was almost exclusively manual labor (hand carts, etc.). The Hitler Youth worked on the mountain, but it is possible that some entered the mountain without permission (access to the mountain was possible). They did not receive special clothing. There were possibly also shorter breaks. They brought cold rations with them. The work was neither strictly supervised nor was there special pressure to perform. Contacts with REIMAHG employees were only with foremen, work leaders, etc. He recalls there was a low-flying aircraft attack on the mountain, but presumably no injuries. He did not see special guards, only work leaders, overseers, etc. There was plenty of midday food. Their normal food ration cards were kept by the Hitler Youth (so no exchange for food). Food came from the field kitchen, possibly also carried up by lift. The provisions were received together with the deployed workers. However, the groups remained separate. To his knowledge, there were no injuries or illnesses from his school. There were no contacts with the local population. They met the workers on the mountain. He had already had contact with forced laborers before, also with concentration camp prisoners who worked for the Fritz-Sauckel plant, where he performed auxiliary work, but he kept his distance from them. In his memory, no special impression of the REIMAHG forced laborers stands out; they were, in his recollection, quite dirty. Their clothing was probably not in too bad condition, possibly many uniform pieces. The work was more alongside each other than together, but an Italian pulled him aside so that he was not hit by a cart. He does not remember anyone other than the Italians. At the mountain (below), Germans also worked, partly conscripted from the villages, including a bricklayer from his home village. He did not perceive differences in the treatment of forced laborers or the camps themselves. He does not recall any special instructions on how to deal with the workers, but it was generally customary to keep distance. They worked together, got their food together from the canisters, but ate separately. No mistreatment was mentioned. He did not notice any special behavior of the German employees. He was apparently supposed to be called up again later but was already on his way home despite appeals to his grandmother. In the collection, there is still a letter that gives the time details, names cities and total numbers, speaks of good supply (letter dated 10.11.), along with some copies of Hitler Youth material (requests, etc., probably partly copies of savings bank books).