Dachau: The Harrowing of Hell

28. Homeward Bound

28 HOMEWARD BOUND Communique No. 30, dated May 2 I, is two pages long. Dr. Kuci again cautions the people to be patient, saying that if they had been permitted to return home immediately after liberation, 80 percent of them would have died. Then the big news: The Czechoslovakians are leaving tomorrow. . . returning to their country. A delegation of their Government is here to receive and accompany them home. The Czechoslovakians are among the oldest inmates of this camp. Some of them came here about seven years ago. Many of their people were murdered and many others died in Germany. Few survived to tell their brave nation the story of these years. Now their country is free. The normal life in Czechoslovakia has begun. Its future will be constructed on a new and sound basis of life. That we know because these people have always given impulsive signs of vitality. Here in the camp at Dachau they were always good and fine comrades. They helped whenever they could and did everything possible to ease the hard life in the concentration camp, for their friends and fellowmen. They worked seriously, for seriousness is characteristic of these people. We, their old friends, wish them the best of luck for the future and hope that all may return to their homes, wives and children. The census report for May 2 1 arrives from the IPC and shows a total of 26,81 3 inmates remaining; of these only 17,648 are still in the prison compound. Compared to the original figures , about 10 percent of the Poles and 25 percent of the French are gone: some have died, some have fled, and some of the Poles I 215 have adopted a new country. A small number of Luxembourgers has been repatriated. The Hungarian population has doubled . Only 60 percent of the Belgians remain, and about 30 percent of the Dutch. Most of those who have returned home are western Europeans. But the large national groups that predominated originally-the Poles, Russians, French, and Yugoslavs -are still here. Today there are 64 deaths, 467 legal departures, and 246 missing . The outer compound hospitals house 30390 patients and the camp hospital holds another 4,024; there are an additional 820 sick in their quarters. Imprisoned in the bunker-the "dungeon-house"-are 162 men. Leaving today are 1 37 Luxembourgers, 95 French, 72 Poles, 62 Russians, and a handful of Belgians, Czechs, Dutch, Hungarians , and Yugoslavs. During our infantry days we measured time as the distance between rivers. Now we use as a measurement the number of days between the repatriation of large national groups. May 24. This should be a memorable day. The French are the first large group to leave the camp. After their departure, the Dutch, Belgians, and Norwegians are scheduled, then the Italians , Yugoslavs, and some of the Russians. The return of the Poles and most of the Russians is delayed. For the internees, these are days of great excitement and impatience . For us, they are days of great labor and even greater paperwork. Despite the tumult and agitation, the movements are usually trouble free, except for occasional bickering, such as who is to ride in the first convoy, who is to wait for the second. Sometimes people of one country smuggle themselves into a convoy of another country, and the appropriate liaison officers have to eject them-if they are discovered. More often, some are inadvertently left behind. The homeward move is for the healthy and the ambulatory sick. Even so, all citizens of the specific country scheduled for departure are rechecked from a medical and security point of view. For the French, the first part of the journey is by truck, with each vehicle holding thirty people and some luggage. At the ap216 I The Turning Point pointed time, thousands of crying and laughing Frenchmen line up with unaccustomed obedience and march to their trucks to the cheers of the noisy spectators; some need to be assisted by their countrymen. As the dust rises behind the disappearing trucks, we see tears in the eyes of those who must still wait. The tears dry quickly. The crowd disperses. It is time to plan for tomorrow. Now living in the new satellite camp are about 3,000 Russians , hundreds of Italians, Albanians, and Hungarians, and a sprinkling of others. By arrangement, the Russians have cooked for everyone living there. But today, they announce that they will cook only for their own...