Eyewitness Testimony Boguslaw Michalski

• Michalski, Bogusław, Questionnaire provided by the Fundacja "Polsko-Niemieckie Pojednanie" [Foundation "Polish-German Reconciliation"]. Bogusław Michalski I. Before the Deportation 1. When were you born and who belonged to your family? I was born on 21.03.1927. My family included my mother, my brother, and my sister. II. Deportation 2. When and under what circumstances did you become a forced laborer? I was arrested by the German railway police in 1943 in Mołodeczno (today Belarus) and handed over to the SD. 3. What was the transport to Kahla like? What conditions prevailed during the transport? We were transported in a cattle car first from Mołodeczno to Frankfurt am Main, then to Kassel, Essen, and to Kahla without food or drink. III. Arrival in Kahla and at the REIMAHG Labor Camp 4. Do you remember which camp you first arrived at? Were you transported further? I was first in Gumperda for half a year. About 250 people slept on straw in an old cinema. Afterwards, about 2500 people were transported to the camp in Bibra, where we were under room arrest building a security factory. 5. What accommodation was there in the camp? What was the accommodation like? There were bunk beds with straw. Water was outside. The barracks were old. 6. Was there enough fuel, blankets, and other items in the barracks? What condition were these in? We collected fuel ourselves. One blanket and one pillow filled with straw. 7. What food was there in the camp? Was the food varied? How and when was the food distributed? 300 grams of bread daily plus malt coffee plus one tablespoon of sugar for the whole week plus one liter of soup at noon. The food was always the same. IV. Forced Laborers at REIMAHG 8. When and how did your day start? How long did it take to get to the workplace? What was the morning and evening roll call like? There were no roll calls, only a gathering before work. Work was from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (in two shifts). The way to work took 30 minutes. 9. To which department at REIMAHG did you belong? Did the tasks change during this time? The work was to dig a tunnel in a mountain. It was always the same work until the tunnel was finished. 10. How intense was the stress or pressure related to the work? The stress was very high. My work was always supervised by a foreman and a guard. 11. What impression did the German and foreign foremen make? How did the foreign foremen treat forced laborers from their own country? The foremen were Germans, about 70 years old, and relatively good to us. 12. What payment did you receive? Could you buy anything with it? There was no pay. V. Everyday Life in the Camp 13. Could forced laborers have personal contact with other prisoners? Could you move freely? There was no contact among each other. We were only allowed to move within the camp grounds because it was fenced and controlled. 14. Did you notice that some groups of forced laborers were treated better than others? Everyone was treated the same. VI. Behavior of Foremen, Officials, and Civilians 15. Do you remember the guards or wardens? What nationalities were they? How did they behave? I remember the guards and wardens. The wardens were Ukrainians, originally from Germany, and the guards were Germans. 16. Was there a danger of denunciation from other forced laborers in the camp? There was no danger of denunciation. 17. Were you a witness to mistreatment or a murder? Do you remember victims? Who were the perpetrators? I was a witness to mistreatment and I know of some murders, but I saw nothing. I remember victims. The perpetrators were SS soldiers. 18. How did the German foremen and workers behave towards you? The German workers and foremen behaved well towards us. 19. Did you have contact with civilians? How did they behave? Was there barter with the outside world? The only contact with civilians was on the way to work. They threw animal excrement at us and insulted us. 20. Were there escapes from the camp? What punishments were there for that? I know nothing about escapes. VII. Health Care and Deaths 21. What happened in case of illness or injury? What experiences did you have with health care, especially the hospital? I had no health care in the camp. 22. Do you know anything about deaths in the camp? There were deaths. I do not know what they did with the bodies. I lost neither a friend nor anyone from my family. VIII. Liberation 23. Did the Germans evacuate you from the camp in the last days of the war? If yes, what were the conditions of the march? One month before the end of the war, our factory was bombed and we were evacuated. The march conditions were terrible: people dragged farm wagons with documents and food. 24. Where were you liberated? What physical condition were you in then? We were liberated near Wajda by the Americans. IX. Return to the Homeland 25. When did you return to Poland? Return to the homeland in June 1945 (Nowowilwjka). 26. Which questions were important to you? Would you like to say anything else? All questions were important and difficult. My stay in the camp was a nightmare. I never believed I would return home.