Escape from Archangel: An American Merchant Seaman at War

The Trains

The Trains Finally the shock of their internment and the daily life in the camp settled over the Americans. At first they had shown spirit. The guards did not find it amusing to be talked back to, and the Americanswere physically beaten to their knees. Reason began to rule. People around them who were beaten, injured, or became sick did not last long under the living conditions at the camp. They determined to stay asfitas they could. They would stay out of the guards' way.They still had a pocketful of rubles. (The soldiers in the truck had taken their watches, but had not searched their pockets.) Money sometimes got them a little extra food. Hardships were easier for Jac to bear—he was young. George and Firsty were well into their thirties, and the life was more difficult for them. When the three could get together, they tried to cheer each other up. Surely someone from the United States would sooner or later take alarm at their disappearance and come searching for them. -109- When Jac was alone at night, his thoughts were anything but cheerful. Would they, in fact, be missed? They were not on any maritime company's crew list for the convoy. They had sailed with the Russian navy on a ship that had been transferred to Soviet ownership in New York under the LendLease program. They had not been placed on anyAmerican personnel or pay records, and the Russianshad certainly not turned one in to the Allies. Hundreds of men were reported missing from the convoy. Wouldn't it be assumed that they had simply been lost en route? None of the other merchant seamen who had arrived safely would know that the three were missing. Even those few friends who had known they were on the Russian ship would figure they had returned home aboard some other ship and then shipped out again. In the Merchant Marine it was not unusual for friends and old shipmates not to see each other for months, even years. Who would think to look for American seamen in a Russian labor camp? Jac fought against such thoughts. He was afraid of them, afraid of knowing. Knowing that there would be no waking up to rescue, safety, and a free tomorrow. The trains continued to arrive, one every week or two. The guards looked forward to them. They would meet the trains, even the ones off duty, in order to pick out the most attractive women. Some of the women were single, some married with their husbands, but it didn't matter to the guards. They would come into the barracks at night, as the mood struck them, and summon their choice for a little sexual entertainment . Any who refused took a beating. If the choice was a married woman and her husband tried to prevent them using -110- his wife, he was beaten, often half to death. Some of the guards preferred young men. Whenever the guards appeared, the other prisoners would turn away and look at the wall, to ease the embarrassment and humiliation of the person chosen —and again when they were returned later. It allowed everyone to pretend that no one knew who the pitiful souls were. In the camp, things of some small value could be bartered with the guards. Money, rings, a young girl's body might be traded for medicine, extra bread, a better job perhaps. They could also be traded to fellow prisoners for an extra bowl of soup, or use of their blanket for a night, and especially for an extra piece of clothing, a pair of gloves, or socks. Jac was very lucky to havehad so much clothing on when he was arrested. Especially valuable to his health was his great sheepskin coat and his boots. He also had arrived with a pocketful of rubles. Until it ran out, he used it for extra food for himself and sometimes for those who needed it worse than he did. The building where he lived was full. The one wood burning stove in the middle of the floor barely kept the frost out. The humansmell was awful. The people were not inclined to bathe, especially since there were no facilities. Jac was no different at first, but when he could no longer stand his own smell, he learned one can bathe with snow, at least a little now and...