Eyewitness Testimony Julia Lenczewska

Mrs. Julia Lenczewska reports the following: I was brought to Germany together with my husband. I left Warsaw on October 7, 1944, and we arrived in Kahla on November 6. On the way, we passed through the transit camps in Pruszkow, Landsdorf, and Erfurt. The transport was accompanied by SS officials. We lived on zwieback that we had brought from home. We were not even allowed outside to relieve ourselves, although women and men traveled together. In the transit camps, we were ordered, photographed, and deloused. Upon arrival in Kahla, I showed a certificate proving that I was a nurse by profession; as a result, I was assigned work in the medical station of Construction Camp IV. I lived together with my husband in a communal barrack in Camp II, and I had to walk 4 km to work. The barrack was not yet finished, unheated, and had a poor roof. To reach the barrack, we had to go through marshland, so we constantly had wet shoes from the first days. We worked in our own clothes, not adapted to the conditions on the construction site, which constantly caused catarrh and hypothermia among the people. We worked 12 hours. We got up early, around 4 to 5 a.m., then ran to roll call. Our food was twice daily: in the morning coffee, 250 grams of bread, and 50 grams of fat (mostly margarine), and in the evening 1 liter of soup (sugar beets, turnips, or carrots with ingredients). But we often could not eat these meals due to air raid alarms. At Christmas, we received 7 potatoes, two-thirds of which were rotten. The camp regulations were a torment. Such an existence caused illnesses after just a few weeks. My work in the medical station of Camp IV: The head of the medical station was the orderly Hermann Kupera. At first, he had the help of a prisoner doctor, a Frenchman (medical student), later an Italian. I do not remember his name. The auxiliary staff consisted of 3 Polish nurses and one Estonian. The work in the medical station was organized as follows: Kupera briefly examined the registered sick, sorted them, threw out those he suspected were faking, then registered and assisted during the examinations by the doctor. After the diagnostic auscultation, he alone distributed medicine and prescribed relief. He also alone decided on the admission of the sick to the hospital in Jena. Kupera also visited the sick in the barracks. Medicine was available only in very limited quantities. The French doctor was very kind to the forced laborers. He influenced the orderlies to grant work exemptions and to issue medicine. He probably went into the SS bunker; in any case, I do not know what happened to him. The Italian doctor was stricter; Kupera could rely on him and overruled his own independent decisions. In my eyes, Kupera was a ruthless man who blindly carried out the orders of his superiors. He was diligent and demanded the same from his staff. He hated the Russians because he had four sons on the Eastern Front. He heard nothing from them; at least he could give fatal injections to the seriously ill. The forced laborers of Camp IV were less exposed to mistreatment than in other camps. They had slightly better nutrition, a functioning bath, and they also received work clothes. The sick in this camp were in better conditions compared to others. There were no lice in this camp. The mortality rate was low; more Belgians and Russians died. There were few Italians in the camp. The cause of death was mostly general vitamin deficiency. In contrast, in other camps, forced laborers died of dropsy due to hunger and diarrhea. The Italians suffered very much from the climate. Shortly before the evacuation, I hid in the infirmary of Camp II, where I worked voluntarily. The condition of the infirmary was tragic: overcrowding, infectious diseases among the other patients, terrible lice infestation, and hunger. Medicines were lacking, and the mortality rate was very high. After the arrival of the American army, I remained in the infirmary as a registered nurse. The medical team of the American army acted systematically: they quickly supplied the camp with disinfectants, medicines, and food. I alone administered over 100 glucose injections daily. Unfortunately, despite this help, many of the sick died after liberation. Mortality was also high outside the infirmary, especially due to changes in nutrition. I remember that I unfortunately failed to save a man who ate 1 kg of bread on the first day of freedom. The dead of Camp II were buried in mass graves near the barracks, on a hill. Note: Julia Lenczewska was in possession of photos of this cemetery.