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Josef Nowak: Rhine meadow camp of Rheinberg

Chapter 7: Keyword cloud burst

Cages with about 30,000 men -- detentions: criminal "Amis" are detaining everything where is a uniform cap -- detained women and amputates -- hedge hoppers - life in the rain and in the mud -- secret order "cloud burst" with projected mass murder of detainees in Misburg by grenade explosions

from: Josef Nowak: Seed on the field. War prisoner in the home land
(German: Mensch auf den Acker gesät. Kriegsgefangen in der Heimat)

translated by Michael Palomino (2013)

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[Criminal "Americans": torture without limits against Germans in cages of about 30,000 men each]

And now we had time, many days and nights time without end.

There were many months on the same spot and earth was our bed and sky was our blanket.

The big cage was parted into many little cages. Any of them had about 30,000 men.

[Criminal "Americans": they are detaining everything with a uniform cap - even detentions without clothes]

The Americans did collect everything what they could see, soldiers in uniforms and soldiers in clothes of farmers, workers, hikers, or vagabonds. they were detaining mailmen, train workers, assistant police, forest wardens, 15 years old flak assists, and 65 years old men from the last defense (Vokssturm). When Hitler had sinned against youth and old men, then the Americans had no scruples to follow his example. The possession of a uniform cap - may be of a doorman, of a tram driver or of a carrier was enough for being transported to Rheinberg. A former tank pioneer had nothing than a shirt and a pant. When he was detained he was not allowed to dress himself. Thus he was taking rapidly a blue silk quilt scratching two holes in it for the arms. An actor of the municipal stages of Hanover only had a [p.70] black track suit. A singer of the same stage was in the costume of the last defense (Volkssturm). He did not make the impression that he would live a long time yet.

[Criminal "Americans" are also detaining German women and amputated and severely disabled persons]

At one narrow side of our rectangular shaped camp E the wire was especially high and large. I was looking two times, even three times. Indeed there were thousands of girls from the work service, news assistants, flak assistants, and even nurses from the Red Cross were there. For sure some of these women had followed the Wehrmacht by their own will. But an uncountable number of them had only been obliged or had been extorted to serve in the army. The women did not seem to be especially depressed. They had adapted already to be robbed of their freedom. Of whom this was not important at the end.

But what could be seen at the other narrow side of the rectangular? I was only there one time, as long as I was in this camp. A second time I did not want to see this dreadful picture. It was not necessary either. I kept it well in my memory, and from time to time the colors and forms of this picture will reappear and will be refreshed in my torturing dream.

There were men who had lost one arm or both. There were men who had lost one leg or both. There were men with bandaged heads, with bandaged hands [p.71] or with bandaged feet. If there were also blinds I cannot say. But I must say that this is unfortunately possible. All these wounded people and deformed people were the pray from military hospitals and had been deported to Rheinberg. Here they were camping now as a recovery group, first like we were without roof. It was a picture of horror, could have been from Pieter Brueghel and Hieronymus Bosch together. Both painter must have been drunken then. A normal sober person cannot have painted such a picture. I don't know who is responsible for that shame. I don't know if it is alone one person or if the criminal was - like the most criminals - forming a group with good friends. I don't know at all if statesmen, if military leaders of if sadistic base wallah are responsible for this general assembly of war cripples. I only know that in this divine and terrestrial world order something is really wrong as long as there are responsibles for this shame not being torn to justice.

[Hedge hoppers with cameras - all have long beards - no mirrors - rain and mud - cloud burst]

In the first days we had many visits of hedge hoppers. They had cameramen on board. They were eagerly composing their weekly news. The world wanted to see what a mass of run-down beings we were. The air planes did not disturb us. May be the cinema visitors in New Mexico or in Minnesota were seeing what they were considering reality and truth. We were not disturbed by it [p.72]. The aviation fuel could have been saved. In Jack London's book "The Road" (German: Abenteuer des Schienenstrangs") can be found how life in "American" prisons is going on. One needed only to take out the captives, painting them with dirt and fitting them with wild beards having the same effect like in Rheinberg. Or the dwellers of America think that they look like diplomats during a New Year's festival when they did not shave or wash during weeks and were living the whole time on the naked earth? When the films had been shown to us then I believe that we had not recognized ourselves. We had no mirror to control the development of our wildness.

In the evening rain was coming to Rheinberg, half an hour, one complete hour, sometimes a little bit longer, but it was raining regularly. Insofar the rain was very good for the camp in the open air. We were daily wet deep down to the skin and we were walking along the fence up and down until we were dry. Just during the first days a divine fate was sending us a cloud burst. We were standing like the columns letting flowing the water downwards. In this night no one could sleep. No one was laying down into the bed of mud.

Cloud burst - - -

[Secret order "Cloud Burst" in Bemerode in March 1945 - against the detainees in Misburg with explosion of grenades 2 meters over the ground - sabotage plan against the order - the order never came]

During the flood of rain was flowing from my hair into my mouth I was thinking nothing but cloud burst - - - [p.73]

It had been in March 1945.

In the evening I was always visiting a middy of my battery. He was a judge of a local court. He should show in our group if he was mature for being a lieutenant. One time I came to him and I saw him at the table with a sorrowful face as if he had received the news that all his family had been exterminated during a bomb attack. Me too I was quiet for a wile. Then I wished him a good night. This wish came from all my heart but was fairly stupid because we were never sleeping in the nights any more. At the latest in two hours and then until sunrise we would be working with our canons again.

I could not leave. With a tired but dreadful gesture he wanted me to stay with him yet. We were quiet for a wile. And then I said:

-- When you want to speak with me about something yet, and when this should be today yet, then will not remain much time ye.t

He was afraid. He was shivering as if he had a shivering attack, and he did not want to say anything during a long time, but was ensuring that he would trust this only to me in the battery, but - - -

I understood. It's not so easy to speak when there is a death penalty. I was told the whole truth then. A secret order had arrived which only knew the battery chief and he as a technical shooting person. It was a bloody order, a murder order. Keyword: cloud burst! When the district leader (Gauleiter) and the National Commissar of Defense [p.74] were giving this keyword, then the great battery had to give fire for all sixty cannons in a certain distance, in a certain angle, in a certain height of tubes and should fire with a high explosion point 2,000 shots. high explosion point - this meant that the grenades would explode about 2 meter over the earth.

He had a map about this.

We should murder the striped in Misburg! The fewest should survive the day of the catastrophe!

The middy seemed to collapse. He was crying without end like a woman. I was comforting him.

-- My God, this is not so heavy. Just me I have the key of the commando device in the hand. One wink and I will turn the sides fast by some dashes. Then the whole load will go into the swamp. And when God means it well with the poor guys then he will support that I will be at the device in this moment, in the other case - - -

The keyword "cloud burst" was never given. We needed no high treason or something like this. The district leader was in such a hurry with his group of staff for getting away from Hanover that he was forgetting the striped in Misburg. Only the boxes with alcoholic beverages and with cigarettes they did not forget when they were withdrawing in a wild movement to the Harz Mountains [p.75].

[Constant rain in the night]

Cloud burst - the clouds were bursting yet. The feet of the columns were standing in the mud up to the wrinkles and higher. When one of the dumbs of Rheinberg was crying now, nobody would have seen it. He had not even felt it. These some drops would not have been able to salt the ocean which was coming down now [p.76].

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