Eyewitness Testimony Rene Roell

“At the train station stood a group of Russians, so dirty and crumpled. We walked around them, not knowing that in less than a week we would end up the same way.” Rene Roell Through a list of addresses I received from Paul Baert and also with the help of the Pieters family, I was able to locate Mr. Roell from the Netherlands. In 1943, he was studying naval architecture in Delft and he had a choice: either sign a loyalty contract (this would be the only way to continue studying), leave and work in Germany, or go into hiding. He chose the latter. Unfortunately, in October 1943, his hiding place was discovered by the Germans. From then on began his captivity in Amersfoort, Buchenwald, and Kahla. After his return from Germany, Mr. Roell wrote down his experiences in Germany. He gave me the part of his experiences in Kahla. “From April to November 1944 I was in Buchenwald. We were mainly held in the outer command area in Gleina, where Hungarian Jews were imprisoned and some Dutch and French performed the work. Considering all circumstances, the time there was not so bad.” “On November 13, 1944, I and 56 other men were transferred. A leader from the Weimar labor office accompanied us. The train left while we sang the old Buchenwald song. Our hearts beat faster in eager anticipation, but most of us were not cheerful the whole time. We had no idea where we were going or what would happen to us.” “In Weimar the train stopped, and at 5 p.m. we had to get back on.” “By then, wild guesses about the destination of our trip were circulating; that was the secret. Actually, we should have known.” “We passed Jena and had to change trains in Göschwitz. When it got dark, we got off in Kahla.” “At the station stood a group of Russians, so dirty and crumpled. We walked around them, not knowing that in less than a week we would end up the same way.” “At first glance, this village could tell us whether we would feel at home or not. Kahla looked miserable. Now rumors arose about where we would have to work, in the porcelain factory or even in the quarry.” “At the station stood a group of Russians, so dirty and crumpled. We walked around them, not knowing that in less than a week we would end up the same way.” “Our group waited a long time for a car, but none came; so we had to walk. We arrived at an inn where we got some watery soup, bread, and also a bowl, a spoon, and a small blanket. Then we continued our march to the camp. After passing the village, the path became increasingly muddy and finally we slipped up and down the slopes: mud splashed up to our faces. Eventually, we saw the lights of the camp, which turned out to be Camp E.” “At the entrance stood a cursing SS man, the camp leader. We stumbled further through the mud into the camp, which consisted of two rows of barracks. When we finally— not without danger— crossed a small bridge, our barrack appeared in the light of a carbide lamp. It was a remarkably primitive single-walled wooden barrack, mostly without or with broken windows, no doorknob, no stove... Apart from some wood shavings lying around, there was nothing inside. Later we learned that this was a great advantage: there were no lice. We were cold, wet, and after taking off most of our damp clothes, we lay under our small blankets as best or as poorly as we could. We tried to get warm, which was quite difficult on a cold, windy November night and under such circumstances.” “The next morning we looked around; there was an open pump at the end of the camp and a primitive toilet at the other end. Everything was covered with mud.” “After much cursing, the Germans gave us some work clothes. At noon, an SA man took us to the personnel office to divide us into different departments in the production hall.” Gradually they began to realize where they had arrived. The “production site,” called Reimahg, was a large undermined mountain with an endless labyrinth of tunnels. Something mysterious was being built there, which later turned out to be the new propellerless fighter plane. At night, the entire area was illuminated by thousands of electric lamps. It had something of an anthill. Soon this group of Dutchmen would also learn to hate the site, like a slave hates the galleys. “A woman from the personnel office led us to the next floor. The place was overcrowded with SA, SS, and NSKK, Wehrmacht, SD, OT, and other Nazi men, and everywhere the same dirty, crumpled ‘slaves’ were running around: Russians, Belgians, Italians...” Rene Roell“At the train station stood a group of Russians, so dirty and crumpled. We walked around them, not knowing that in less than a week we would end up the same way.” “We were employed at the Keim company: to load stones into small carts.” “For these conditions, there were fairly reasonable working hours: three shifts of eight hours each. I and some other fellow prisoners started with the afternoon shift from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. After a week, I worked the night shift, and at that time the Germans switched from a 3-shift to a 2-shift system. From then on, we had to work 12 hours a day: from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.” “Since our group was divided into shifts, the bed problem in the barracks resolved itself. Mainly, our barracks had no comfort at all; on one side we sealed the cracks with cardboard and we heated with stolen wood and coal. But there were only two beds. When we came back from work, hell broke loose every time we fought over the beds and blankets. It was not very pleasant to sleep without a bed, let alone without a blanket, after working ten hours in the cold. After all, only one thing was important to us: the warmth of a bed and our liter of soup. The division into different work shifts solved the problem by itself.” “The food was received as follows: At the beginning of each new workday, the IDs were handed over to the supervisor and at the end of the day they were returned along with the food cards. In case of poorly performed work (which depended on the supervisor’s evaluation), one received only half of the remaining number of food cards or even none at all. The food was very meager. At 5 p.m. (or at 7 a.m. during the day shift) we ate a liter of water soup. With some luck, there was a potato in it, rotten or not, and sometimes even four small boiled potatoes, at least two of which were bad, and some cabbage. For the rest, one got 200 grams of spoiled bread, which caused many people to become ill; most had dysentery, edema from hunger, and were generally weakened. After just three days, the first from our group collapsed at work.” Soon they found out what kind of camp they were in. Although it was officially not a penal camp, it was very close to one. It was forbidden to leave the camp; they had to go to work and back to the camp in a closed column. The smallest offense was punished with beatings, food deprivation, or imprisonment. “The only distraction during the night shift was the air raid alarm. When RAF or AAF planes approached the production site within more than 50 kilometers, the ‘blackout alarm’ was activated. The lamps illuminating the mountain flickered three times, then total darkness prevailed. We then went into the tunnels, where the lamps were lit and where we found shelter, even against the cold. One always tried to sleep on these occasions. It actually became really bad only when a voice shouted ‘Out!’ and one had to go back out into the cold, which now seemed even colder.” 5. Rene Roel _ “At the train station stood a group of Russians, so dirty and crumpled. We walked around them, not knowing that in less than a week we would end up the same way.” “In the tunnels, a black market took place. For a cigarette, one had to pay 10 to 15 marks, for a bowl of food 30 marks or two cigarettes, for a bread card 60 marks, for a kilo of bread 90 to 100 marks.” “The worst was the medical care. One had to search for days for someone who could treat an injury. With excuses or even curses, one was sent from one place to another. My leg injury got worse again, so I had to look for help. After standing for hours in the cold, I managed to get a 32-day ‘rest,’ which meant I was allowed to stay in bed. But I only got half the food card because those who did not work did not need to eat. After three days, I had to line up again to apply for an extension of the ‘rest.’” “In this way, we tormented ourselves until Christmas, during which the number of sick people increased so much that everyone was sent back to work, if necessary even with beatings.” “In the meantime, winter came. It froze down to -10 to -30°C and snow lay everywhere.” “And so it became Christmas. It was a big difference from last year, but somehow also very special. Under such circumstances, one first learns to know and appreciate the deeper meaning of Christmas. Because although the tyrants ruled everything here, everyone said after a curse—which occurred very frequently—on this day: Indeed, today is Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we went to the night shift, but even here a certain Christmas spirit could be felt. Even the barbaric Jerry hated not being able to be at home and behaved a little friendlier. It was an extraordinary sight when the lights in the large concrete hall went out and only the flickering coke fires burned against the freezing of the concrete, around which unusually dressed Russians crowded to warm themselves. It had something of a flock of sheep on Christmas Eve.” “That morning I came back to the camp very sick because there was a new dysentery epidemic. It was the last time I would work regularly because for the rest of the time I again got the necessary ‘rest.’” “35 of the initial 57 men in our group remained. The others had ‘escaped,’ as the Germans called it. Of the many who ran away, some returned in very poor condition after having undergone special treatment by the Gestapo.” “Sometimes expeditions were organized to Gleina, where they then slept in the house of the old man who lived on the edge of the camp. He gave them food and clothing; everyone was very compassionate at that time. Lists and IDs were already forged in advance to make the temporary disappearance as inconspicuous as possible. When they returned in the middle of the night, it was almost like a party. After all, one could not be sure of coming back alive.” Rene “At the train station stood a group of Russians, so dirty and crumpled. We walked around them, not knowing that in less than a week we would end up the same way.” “During a raid in our barracks, we were driven out with weapons. Louis, one from our room, protested and after a fight with one of the Jerries, he ended up in the bunker. Only thanks to his experience in dealing with SS men is he...”after a week was released again; he was in a rather poor condition. He probably would not hold out until the end.» «An equally unpleasant as silly matter was the delousing. Barrack by barrack was disinfected. Meanwhile, the residents had to leave and sleep in the canteen, where due to poor supply there were no blankets. Most of us did not get the chance to wash and delouse our belongings and so the others were infested with lice again because they came into contact with those who had not yet been deloused.» Thanks to a fortunate coincidence, Mr. Roell was able to leave the camp on February 27, 1945. «On February 21, I was transferred by the Keim company to the Gustloff works, the actual aircraft production site, where I was supposed to work as a technical draftsman. That promised a complete improvement of my situation. I reported to the personnel office, had to wait for hours until I was told to come back the next day. It cost me considerable effort to still get my food cards. Indeed, the next morning all the necessary documents were there and I got the job as a technical draftsman in department 12. After wandering for a long time in the numerous tunnels, I finally found the department. But they had no work for me there and so I was sent back to the personnel office. Finally, these people found out that I had worked in Buchenwald and therefore I could not be useful for "war-important" work. What now? Back to shovel or bunker construction? The next morning I had to report again and after waiting a few hours, they gave me a letter for Mr. Martin, who took care of such matters. But this man seemed to be nowhere. When he was still not there on February 24, they sent me to the employment office in Kahla. That was my lucky day. I did not tell them there that I had worked for the Keim company; only that the Gustloff works could not use me. They asked me how I had come to Kahla and I answered via Weimar. The next morning I was able to gather all the necessary papers I needed for the trip to Weimar. And so on February 27 I packed my modest belongings into a wooden suitcase, said goodbye to the guys with whom I had gone through hell, and left.» After his departure in Kahla, Mr. Roell arrived in Bad Berka to work for a mining engineer who was trying to build air-raid shelters. On April 13, 1945, they were liberated by the Americans. The Dutch were not yet liberated and so he was forced to remain in the American army in France until July 1945 before he could return to his family. Rene Roell