12/12/13
The Night
I reached camp. Never had I been so eager to meet new people as I was now. There they were, my new squad. These were the men I would proudly be representing the Third Reich with. My squad consisted of Franz, Joseph, Wolfgang, Dieter, and me, Rolf. While we were chatting, the speaker came on and blared, "All SS soldiers are to report to the operation's room for briefing". When we arrived we were told of our first assignment. Our Regiment was to be assaulting the French controlled city of Lyon; our squad was meant to go in and help deal with the civilians.
We arrived in the city. Horror struck me when I saw dead parents being dragged away by their own young. How could any of this be right? I now started to question the directive of my own country, the Third Reich, and its men. A sickness came about me, leaving me lightheaded. Then came my commanding officer. He seemed to have noticed my uneasiness and was ready to make me pay for it. With him was a young Jewish man. These were the people my country was teaching me to hate, why? The man had a fear in his eyes that caught me. He meant no harm, he just wanted life. Bang! My commanding officer had shot him in the head. I was told to dispose of the body. Never had I felt so conflicted in my life. My country, the country I loved, now disgusted me. I needed to get out
While lying in my quarters, I overheard my squad mates speaking of an escape. I turned my attention to them. I then asked, "Are you men planning to go AWOL?" with a bit of restraint in my voice. Dieter replied, "After the events that came about in Lyon, yes". Me and my squad talked throughout the night; discussing how we would manage to escape this camp. We managed to come up with a plan. We were to sneak into the vehicle pool just before midnight and leave in the ammunition's convoy. If all went well we would find ourselves near the edge of Nazi controlled Europe from where we would flee to wherever we felt safe. Time to start packing, we left tomorrow night.
It was surprisingly easy for us to sneak into the vehicle pool, since it was left unguarded. Now we found ourselves cramped in the back of the convoy truck, on our way out of this fascist place. All was going well, until we reached the checkpoint. The guard had spotted us. With one swift shot, Franz had shot him in the head. We only had a few minutes until support showed up. We spotted a half-track and ran for it. Now on the run we found ourselves being chased. We drove through the side roads at insane speeds. Trying our hardest to get out of their sight. After what seemed to be an hour of chasing, we finally lost them. Looking over the hills we saw the city of Paris. We had made it.
After spending the night on the outskirts of Paris, we all went our seperate ways. I had managed to flee to Cuba before the war went into full affect. I was never to see Franz, Joseph, Wolfgang, or Dieter again. But I knew that I would never forget them. These were the men that helped me escape what I had realized was hell.
We arrived in the city. Horror struck me when I saw dead parents being dragged away by their own young. How could any of this be right? I now started to question the directive of my own country, the Third Reich, and its men. A sickness came about me, leaving me lightheaded. Then came my commanding officer. He seemed to have noticed my uneasiness and was ready to make me pay for it. With him was a young Jewish man. These were the people my country was teaching me to hate, why? The man had a fear in his eyes that caught me. He meant no harm, he just wanted life. Bang! My commanding officer had shot him in the head. I was told to dispose of the body. Never had I felt so conflicted in my life. My country, the country I loved, now disgusted me. I needed to get out
While lying in my quarters, I overheard my squad mates speaking of an escape. I turned my attention to them. I then asked, "Are you men planning to go AWOL?" with a bit of restraint in my voice. Dieter replied, "After the events that came about in Lyon, yes". Me and my squad talked throughout the night; discussing how we would manage to escape this camp. We managed to come up with a plan. We were to sneak into the vehicle pool just before midnight and leave in the ammunition's convoy. If all went well we would find ourselves near the edge of Nazi controlled Europe from where we would flee to wherever we felt safe. Time to start packing, we left tomorrow night.
It was surprisingly easy for us to sneak into the vehicle pool, since it was left unguarded. Now we found ourselves cramped in the back of the convoy truck, on our way out of this fascist place. All was going well, until we reached the checkpoint. The guard had spotted us. With one swift shot, Franz had shot him in the head. We only had a few minutes until support showed up. We spotted a half-track and ran for it. Now on the run we found ourselves being chased. We drove through the side roads at insane speeds. Trying our hardest to get out of their sight. After what seemed to be an hour of chasing, we finally lost them. Looking over the hills we saw the city of Paris. We had made it.
After spending the night on the outskirts of Paris, we all went our seperate ways. I had managed to flee to Cuba before the war went into full affect. I was never to see Franz, Joseph, Wolfgang, or Dieter again. But I knew that I would never forget them. These were the men that helped me escape what I had realized was hell.
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