Eyewitness Testimony Hans Schroth

Interview Hans Schroth: What can you say about the last days of Reimahg? It was said that Hitler wanted to come in January, but this was canceled because the US Army was already very far into the country. Production had stopped and the foreigners were in the camp, and we only burned documents there. We were in tunnel 24, that was the design office, where all the drawing boards were, and we took out and burned the drawings that were still available; important documents had already been removed earlier. About the porcelain factory? Where they were taken, I cannot say. In any case, they took the most important things with them, and what was still there in terms of documents, drawing boards, and drawings was secondary; we additionally burned those at the barracks by the large bunker—the whole drawings, all the documents, all the personnel files were burned. At that moment, I had the idea to take out my documents, which is why I still have them. Everything was burned: the military ID cards, all the employment records, all papers—that was one thing. Then, secondly, the destruction of spare parts or equipment: at the front of the first bunker, the boxes containing all the measuring instruments (daughter compasses, mother compasses, horizon indicators) were torn open, the stuff was ripped out of the packaging, smashed with iron bars, and thrown away—destroyed. I still see the mercury flowing like a small trickle into the gutter. Did you do this over several days? Well, about 2-3 days; then there was also looting. Was there no guard anymore? No, anyone and everyone was there. Then the Americans came and sealed everything off hermetically; double guards were posted below at Reimahg construction and above at position 0. Then an officer came; we were sitting in Sauckel’s office, he opened his map case and showed us the aerial photo of Reimahg with tactical symbols on it—the Reimahg was to be bombed. And after they saw the plant—they went in with us later—they realized that with their aerial mines they had, they could not have done anything. The plant itself, I believe, is 23 meters of solid rock; nothing could have been done. Only Grosseutersdorf and half the town of Kahla would have been destroyed. They went in with us and looked at everything. Inside the mountain, there was a bit of looting and a little junk burning in an outbuilding, but that was not dangerous since there was nothing explosive there. Because it was burning, they did not dare to go in. Then the head of Reimahg who was still there spoke with the Americans, and then the big Studebakers came, and the foreigners were packed up and taken away from Kahla. Because a large part was already in the town looting, which was understandable—they had nothing else. Because they were taken away immediately, much was prevented. There might have been murder and manslaughter otherwise. Where they were taken, I do not know. It was not a violent action. It was said that large parts of the airplanes were outside the mountain? What happened to that stuff, I do not know. There were still wings from the Me 109; nothing from the Me 262 was there. Only one finished one stood in the Congress Hall. In production, I myself saw the large frames where the sheets were placed and then riveted together with explosive rivets. There were also cabins of the Me 109; the Americans shot them up with submachine guns, and we then took the fragments and used them as torches. Regarding the actual matter, namely the engines of the Me 262, these had already been taken away by our people beforehand. That is why the Americans found nothing; they searched intensively but found nothing. It is claimed that the Americans assembled airplanes and took them away? There were still lathes with "Milano" on them; some of that was taken and other junk. The rest was taken by the Russians. What else did they want to find? There was nothing left! I can only say that I myself saw the 17 machines flying. But it is said that other types of airplanes also took off? No, only Me 262. As I said, no Me 262 was built, I know that 100%. The planes that took off were the ones brought at night and in the fog. The wagons were pulled up at night and fog. Then the machines were assembled and brought to the runway with the inclined elevator. I still remember we said among ourselves: Sauckel says to the Führer: my Führer, I report that Reimahg is producing. But no Me 262 was produced, I know that 100%, because the parts inside the plant were not from the Me 262—I have some knowledge—I knew the Me 262; I even sat inside one myself. I had permission under the table to sit in it; I remember the beautiful control stick and the 4 onboard cannons. I also saw them start; however, they did not build the Me 262. In my estimation, it would have taken at least another half year. The Me 262 was planned to be built. The machines were flown to Dessau. The machines took off depending on wind direction; they had starting rockets. We amused ourselves with the air show, flying backwards, and such things. Volgmann was the head of the personnel department, right? That may be. Was he also your boss? No, we had an old soldier. I was in a sub-department (military office); the military ID cards and documents were collected with us, but our boss had a different name. When the foreigners came, they handed in their military ID cards and other stuff. I was only 20 years old and did not see everything. There were so many people up there. Who belonged to whom, no one knew; everything was so strict. I brought some people into the plant to the foremen’s rooms and handed them over to the foreman; how they were distinguished, I do not know. I only saw that they stood at the lathes and how they worked. At shift changes, the crowds coming out were incredible. Did you have contact with foreign workers? No, that was forbidden. Also with the Russian girls, our office manager said: for God’s sake, don’t get involved with them. We had to sign confidentiality agreements; that was what got me sent to the Gestapo prison in Weimar three weeks later. There I was told that in case of repetition, the gates of Buchenwald would open for me. The foremen had to talk to the people, at least give work instructions.Each area did its own thing. There was a difference between Reimahg Construction and Site 0—that is the actual production site, no one was allowed in there. Everything was strictly sealed off. If foreign workers died, they knew about it, right? No, for us it wasn’t about personnel files; for us it was only about military passes. In any case, everything was sealed off, each area did its own thing. Especially the Congress Hall—if I hadn’t been on good terms with the boss, I would never have gotten in. The Volkssturm was quartered in there. Göring also spoke there, and there stood the one Me 262. Were there actually several high-ranking visits? Well, Göring was there once and Sauckel was there more often. When Fritz Sauckel was there, you could hear him shouting around. Then you knew he was there. I only remember one thing. We had a transport cart that was supposed to go into a tunnel, and we all leaned on it, and Sauckel said: Comrades, we have to stick together like on a submarine! Yes, yes, he came now and then but irregularly. What about the blockhouse? Yes, he had the little house on top, I was in there too. Later people took out the champagne and the furniture—that was his weekend house, he was in there often. Göring was there around October, right? Yes, yes, that was the first official thing. As I said, then Adolf was supposed to come; the lounge was already prepared. It is said that the Reimahg was also bright at night? You have to imagine, it was all one big construction site. Tunnel 24 was the last one to be completely finished. Further back near the Dehnamühle were the miners from the Saar region, I think at Tunnel 80. They worked day and night there. Up front, as I said, was Site 0—they had already started with the aircraft parts; the carts were being taken out. The signal for us was: when we went to bed in the evening and the Reimahg was lit, we could sleep; if the Reimahg was dark, it was better not to sleep at all. One day a young girl was on air raid duty; we saw the Reimahg burning and wanted to sleep, suddenly the American planes came. The girl was immediately arrested. And the Americans flew over the burning Reimahg, but luckily it was not a combat target. They wanted the Reimahg undamaged because they thought they could still get something great out of it. Did you have contact with the pilots? No, I only knew one because you sometimes had a drink with him. As I said, you have to imagine it like this: Site 0 was something like a secret mission; in any case, we had a special status. We always had to sign something. (Confidentiality) Do you have memories of the deployment of the Hitler Youth? No, I can’t remember that; that can only have been Reimahg Construction. No one got into Site 0, and I can only speak about Site 0. That may be true that they worked on the outer facilities; as I said, a cinema and a swimming pool were supposed to be built near the Dehnamühle. I was glad when I had my peace and was in Site 0. With the girls, that was also something. When they came into our offices, we always had a little food hidden. That was dangerous; our department head said: “Go ahead and give, but be careful that the SS doesn’t see it.” Outside it was all a construction site; it would have taken another half year. What was accomplished there was a masterpiece. Did you have contact with larger companies? No, we had no contact; that belonged to Reimahg Construction. AGO Oschersleben had already outsourced some things to Kahla. How long did you continue working for Reimahg? For the Americans a few more weeks; what happened with the Russians I don’t know. When the Russians came, everything became stricter again. Where the Americans were gone, it was over for us too. The Russians then blew up the runway and the bunkers. The Americans were better; they were casual. Do you have memories of the Belgian units? Yes, those were the ones with the flat helmets. Before that, there were those who had been with the German Wehrmacht. The later ones then pursued their countrymen. Some were also shot. I still see it like today: with a cigarette in his mouth, he loaded the belt into the machine gun, then two were brought, then there was peace. I was on familiar terms with the Americans because I had to go up every day; I had an ID with six signatures. Was there fighting around Walpersberg? No, there was nothing. They just exchanged a little fire when the Volkssturm crossed the Saale to Löbschütz. There were a few small skirmishes. How did you come to Reimahg? Well, because of my disability I was classified 50% unfit for military service. There was a medical examination. And we were given conditional KV status. First, I had basic training in Giesen, later I came to the typing pool. Then there was a Führer order that all unfit persons were to be assigned to the armaments industry, and so I came to Reimahg. Last question about the Me 262: were airplanes built there? I once said to a pilot, you don’t want to tell me that the planes are new machines, and he said, that’s not true either; they had all already had enemy contact. They were dismantled and brought to Kahla. That was all for show. It was strange to me from the beginning that freshly assembled planes were doing loops and flying inverted.