War Girls Box Set

Chapter 13

Feldwebel Huber gathered all security units in the mess hall.

“The Ghetto in Lodz is the last existing flocking place of Jews in the Reich, and Reichsführer Himmler has called for its final liquidation. Therefore, Reichsstatthalter Greiser asked the Wehrmacht to secure transport for the eighty thousand Jews currently inhabiting the ghetto.”

Nobody spoke, but the question hung in the room. Where will they go?

Where will they go“All able-bodied men and women will be resettled to start a new life in the East.” Feldwebel Huber assigned tasks to the different units and reminded them that it was of utmost importance to not disappoint the Reichsstatthalter.

A murmur went through the room. Most of the men could care less about that administrative prick and the spiteful SS he commanded.

On the way back to their quarters, Richard took Karl aside asking, “Resettled to the East? Do you believe that crap?”

“Maybe it’s true. We’ve been in Russia. There’s plenty of empty land.”

“Empty, devastated and scorched land. And…do you really think the Soviets will welcome hundreds of thousands of Jews from all over Europe into their country?”

Karl shrugged, but the expression on his face clearly indicated that he did not believe it. “Maybe another ghetto somewhere? What other possibility is there?”

not“Perhaps we prefer not to know.”

“You can’t be serious, Richard. That’s unthinkable. Impossible. Detestable.”

Richard didn’t pursue the topic further. Some things were best left unsaid. In any case, if someone overheard them, his remarks would be a sure way to find out first-hand the final destination of those transports.

The tension in the barracks increased on a daily basis. The front was crumbling faster than the Wehrmacht could retreat. Paper pushers all over occupied Poland feared for their comfortable positions far behind the frontlines.

Rumors ran amok.

It didn’t help that the Polish Home Army were reinvigorated in their acts of sabotage, fueled by the change of season, both in temperature and the advancing Russians. Richard’s unit worked longer shifts in a frantic attempt to keep the resistance from damaging supply lines; an attempt at giving their pals at the front a fighting chance against the Red Army. It seemed with every blood-soaked yard of earth they took back from the German occupier, the Russians grew bolder, stronger, more determined, while the Wehrmacht depleted her materiel: Panzers, machine guns, ammunition, food, clothing, but most of all: men. There simply weren’t enough men left in the Reich to replace those falling every day.

Sixteen-year olds were sent into combat to train on the job. Richard scoffed. Cannon fodder. The poor boys didn’t stand a chance.

train on the jobRichard walked through the woods on patrol to reconnoiter the villages bordering the base. The trees were bursting with fresh green foliage. He inhaled the sharp and sweetly scented air, thinking how different the countryside looked in spring. In times of peace it must have been a beautiful place to live.

But something else had changed. Something that couldn’t be explained by longer days and more sunshine. A different energy hung in the air, competing with the smell of flowers. An energy hidden from the five human senses, but he still picked it up, although it took him a long time to identify it.

Back in one of the villages, his unit was patrolling the street, when someone yelled, “Better you start packing your bags and run, Krauts. Ivan is coming to get you!”

A shiver ran down Richard’s spine – the same tension ratcheting up in the army base could be felt outside. But here it was hope. Hope to be liberated from the detested occupier.

Soon.

The image of the beautiful girl from Baluty came to Richard’s mind. I hope she’s alive and safe. Despite logic, he longed to see her again.

I hope she’s alive and safeMoments later a lump of dirt hit him in the face. Everyone dropped down on one knee, scrambling his submachine g*n at the ready. Karl and Richard, due to yearlong habit, were the first ones to aim, but the civilians had melted into their surroundings already. A few of the soldiers fired nervous volleys of bullets into the air.

“Stop shooting,” Johann yelled. “They’re gone. Keep your guns at the ready and retreat to the truck.”

Back at the base another nasty surprise waited for them.

During their patrol two medical officers had arrived in Lodz, and every man considered nonessential in running the base had been ordered to gather in the mess hall for a physical exam. Not surprisingly the vast majority received category 1, fit for service at the front. Marching orders would be given within the next days.

Andreas passed by, wearing a desolate expression that quickly transformed into hostility when he recognized the security unit. “Lucky bastards. You are to stay.”

Richard had every right to feel Schadenfreude for the arrogant fellow, but he felt only empathy. “Sorry, lad. My advice if you want to survive this hell: Shoot first; think later.”

Schadenfreude“Babyface, and you know this how?” Andreas broke out into a smirk, but suddenly the cockiness fell from his face and his eyes widened. “You’re not going to tell me you’ve been there?”

“A full eighteen months,” Karl said.

“Holy s**t,” Andreas murmured. “Sorry, I had no idea. You look so…young.”

“No problem.” Richard grinned. “We’ll have a beer when you return. Don’t make me wait in vain.”

The soldiers in Richard’s unit looked at one another, their tired faces awash with relief. At this point in the war no one was enthusiastic anymore – maybe with the exception of those back home, thousands of miles away from the front who’d never seen a trench filled with the dead, or hospital trains filled with maimed and wounded.