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Josef
Nowak: Rhine meadow camp of Rheinberg
Chapter 18: Black
brother, a gentleman
German watches are new currency -- white racist
"Amis" often defrauding the Germans - black "Amis"
paying the price -- white racist "Amis" destroying
food parcels - black "Amis" distributing food
parcels - black guards in the camp of Rheinberg were
good men
from:
Josef Nowak: Seeded on the field. War prisoner
in the home land.
(German: Mensch auf den Acker gesät.
Kriegsgefangen in der Heimat, 1956)
translated by Michael Palomino (2013)
[German watches are
the new currency]
In the cap of Rheinberg there was no relationship
between "American" soldiers and German prisoners but
beating people or beaten people, but this kind of
relationship stopped after some time early already.
During the other time the "Americans" were behaving to
us like about British big merchants in Hongkong to the
Chinese servants. No, this is not right. We were ranging
far under the servants. We were not even noticed, not
given any look, not given any name. But as long as we
possessed some watches there was a commercial traffic.
And there were more commercial items, and not so
expensive, like Knight's Cross, German Crosses in Gold,
shields of Narvik, of Crete, of Crimea.
The matter with the watches was again presenting an
enigma to us we could not solve. Our superstition that
the "Americans" would be a rich and overfed nation with
all technical achievements and consumer goods up to the
excess, this idea was breaking down. The "Americans"
were hunting our watches like the polecat the hens. Are
there no watchmakers behind the ocean, are there no
watchmakers between Point Borrow [coast of Texas] and
Cap Horn, are there no watch factories? And when there
are no watch factories, being incapable to produce
watches, where have gone the national [p.166] and the
international boards of trade? Is it not possible to
import watches in bigger quantities? The fact that the
Russians were greedy for our chronometers can be
understood. But that the country of boundless
possibilities was not capable to arm his soldiers with
watches, this was a surprising fact for us. Look here,
the old continent and even the damned country of the
Germans were worth something yet. Here seemed to be the
home land of the watch. What were Babitt, Roosevelt,
Eisenhower without us? These people, the mighty
personalities of the world, did not even know how late
it was when we did not send watches to them. We could
not recover during a long time from this blow which
smashed our illusion.
[Watches at the fence = 100 cigarettes - much fraud
by white racist "Amis" - black "Amis" often pay the
price which was made out]
All watches not having been confiscated during the
capture were sold at the fence of Rheinberg. A well made
and decorative watch cost 100 cigarettes. According to
"American" currency this was six to ten marks according
to the German currency of those times about 10,000
marks. Conferred to the worth of currency of the dollar
the watch had a value of 80 or 100 or even 150 marks.
Even with half of the price it had been for 400, 600,
1,000 cigarettes yet. Thus it was a mean fraud, a
shameless exploitation of a human emergency situation
and passion. How this commerce was coming up? The
"Americans" were showing the cigarettes, and the German
showed his watch. Between them were a least [p.167] four
meters of high wire fence. After having shown the
merchandise, the commerce was managed by good faith. The
"American" was throwing 20 or 40 cigarettes, the German
was throwing his watch. Then the"American" was
catapulting his remaining cigarettes - or not. I could
watch several times as an eye witness that the prisoners
got only half or only one third of the price which had
been made out before. Then the defrauded person was
leaving, mostly without one word, was having a glance
passing the fence to the dirty winner outside. But this
winner was very tough normally. One had also to consider
that the "Americans" were dealing here with the scum of
humanity following the orders of their press and radio
news. They were much not more intelligent and had not
more power of judgment than the followers of Hitler.
But the Negroes were enthusiastic merchants. They were
baring their teeth when they were seeing an especially
beautiful watch. They were paying a higher price, some
times even the double than their white comrades. One
time I could see when such a brown man - perhaps with
his ancestors in eastern Africa - was making a watch
business with 150 cigarettes. There were coming 40
cigarettes first, and the watch was landing at the other
side. Then the Black was finishing his athletic
activity. He had no cigarettes any more, made a sad but
consoling face and was indicating that [p.168] the next
morning at the same time he would be there delivering
the rest.
And God only knows, he came! He was even paying ten more
cigarettes as default interest. One cigarette of them
was given to me then, also when the person receiving the
cigarettes did not know me at all.
Black brother - damn it all! You are a gentleman, you
were giving us courage, men with a black skin and with a
white conscience! Dark honest man you are! I never saw a
white debtor coming back. But of your group I have seen
many. And therefore, black brother, it was many years
later in Hanover on the exhibition when I was sitting
with your group when the merchants of all countries were
in the main restaurant and nobody wanted to have to do
with you anything. When you are acting always so
honorful like in Rheinberg, then the honorful black
merchant has to be praised. Black brother, you did not
beat us, you did not insult us, you did not betray us,
you did not steal. Later I saw you in Frankfort, in
Kassel, in Eichenberg in a time when there was no
Marshall Plan yet. In those times you were helping old
German mothers carrying suit cases to the train. You
even gave the seat for them when white soldiers were
spreading their legs over three or even four seats.
Black men, in Rheinberg you were even giving us food -
but accompanies with a little joke of course - but this
is forgiven [p.169].
[The parcel play - criminal "Americans" placing
latrines against parcels - white criminal "Americans"
destroying parcels - black "Americans" distributing
the food of the parcels]
Near Camp E there was a road which was used by women and
daughters of Rheinberg bringing parcels with bread,
sausage, fruits and potatoes throwing the parcels over
the fence. The "Americans" wanted to stop this activity
in vain. As they were too lazy working during the day
and night guarding the fence there were parcels coming
over the fence every day. But of course it was as if
there had been the apostle distributing food for 5,000
persons with five barley breads and with two fishes:
Lord, what will this be for so many people?
They wanted to stop this postal service and an
"American" representative of the "American" culture had
a genius idea. He had a row of toilets installed on the
fence just in the position that the women and girls were
greeted with the naked bottom of the prisoners when they
wanted to do us a favor. But also this dirty Devil's art
was not leading to any success. The human had just the
force not to see what was not needed to see. And thus
this innovative head could not reach his goal.
The fence had been installed doubled. Between the two
fence walls was a corridor for the guards. When the
women did not have the force now to throw the parcel
over the two obstacles then the parcel was in the
corridor. The white "Americans" normally were destroying
these charitable gifts trampling them into the dirt
putting their heel on it making a doubled turn on it
[p.170]. But when a black man came he was collecting the
parcels and was throwing them to our side or was taking
them with him to the machine gun tower where the feeding
of the carnivores was organized. Amid into the caos of
the hungry men the black mailmen were throwing the
sandwiches now. Perhaps they were reminded of greedy
crocodiles when they saw how the men were coming out of
the mass jumping and tearing the sandwiches even in the
air already having devoured them before coming down to
the earth again.
[Criminal white "American" is a destructive animal]
If it's not clear yet what to think about the white
representatives of culture why the respect for the white
man has sunk so fast in the black populations, then he
may take such sceneries of Rheinberg as a base for his
investigations. Also here on German soil of Lower Rhine
the dominance of the big powers over their colonial
population was crashing like a house of cards. And when
the black soldiers of "America" are loosing more and
more their feeling of racist minority - and this loosing
procession is positive and I grant this very well to
them - then the blacks had really passed a good training
in Rheinberg [p.171].