The Beginning of the Following Sorrowful Story
Sunday, January 21^ST, 1945

by John Knodel
Lehigh Acres, Florida - 1979
39 pages translation by his granddaughter Gerti Soderquist

The Knodel Family 1942

The following story is being transcribed from Hungarian to German from a daybook that I had kept during my 33 month, 1000 day, imprisonment in Russia.  (In 2002, his granddaughter, Gerti, translated it into English).

It is a sorrowful story full of indescribable pain and human suffering that only a person who himself went through similar suffering, could fully understand. 

My story is not fiction, it is rather a true story of what happened to me while a forced laborer in Russia.  We were captured and forced into slave labor in order to re-build what had been destroyed in Russia during the war (World War II).  The Russians enslaved millions of people.   

I was imprisoned in the south Ukraine, between Donetz and the river Don, about four kilometers from the city of Lisicsansk, in the Donbass industrial region.  (Approximately at 48 degree latitude and between 38/40 degree longitude, in the Donets coal basin, Ukraine)  Everywhere around us were coal mines.  In our vicinity, there were over a hundred thousand slaves, most of which had to work in the coal mines.  Others also worked as slave laborers in the building trades and worked on trains. 

Along with others from my hometown, I was forced to work at a coal mine. We had to walk 4 kilometers to start a new coal mine.  Andreas Vejtei, Heinrich Schneider and five more neighbors from Hungary, and myself, were together.   

The Russians made me a carpenter (in Hungary, he owned a building supply store).  There was a good old Russian, Ingenhor, who tried to help us as he could.  

I made the measurements for the wooden frames that were made to fit inside the mine shaft.  The first coal mine was 60 meters deep, the second coal mine was 110 meters deep.  The work was very hard and exhausting.  The work was split up into three shifts. 

In our camp, there were 900 young women from Romania, who were of German descent, 1,600 people, most men, from Hungary, and over 2,000 men from Ober-Schlesien.  In the beginning, most of the people from Romania and Schlesien died, then us Hungarians.  They died cruel deaths from starvation and cold, freezing conditions.  It was the hardest on the coal miners, as they didn’t have any way of working/trading their skills to earn additional food to keep them alive.  By October of 1945, they were replacing the dead with young Russians.

(December, 1945 – the Russians entered Hungary and took control of the country.  As part of war reparations, the Russians raped the country, stripping it of it’s machinery, raw materials and it’s citizens.  Over 600,000 Hungarian citizens were abducted by the Russians and made slave laborers.  Everything went to Stalin’s Russia.)

So did the days go by until the 28^th of January, a Sunday – the Russians brought five more men from Harta.  On Monday, the 29^th of January, the Russians brought four hundred more people to the barracks.  The next day, January 30^th, they brought three hundred women from the Baja (Hungary) area, now there were 1,600 prisoners in the barrack.  We were in the barrack for two more days before our march to paradise. 

On February 1^st, (Thursday) the entire barrack prisoners were escorted to the train station by heavily armed Russians.  On the way to the train station, two men who tried to escape were shot to death by the Russians.  The train car separated us just like in cages, 54 people were caged in the top portion of the car, and 54 people caged in the bottom portion.  Not only did we prisoners shed many tears but tears were shed by our loved ones back home, but it also rained “tears from heaven” on us for two days. 

February 2^nd, 1945 (Friday) Kelebia (Hungary), the Russians rounded us prisoners up and stole anything and everything we have of value – knives, shaving equipment, wallets, mirrors and other personal items all stolen from us! 

February 3^rd, 1945 (Saturday) We’re still on the train, waiting in Szabadka. (Subotica, Yugoslavia)

February 4^th, 1945 (Sunday)  As the train began pulling out, three men from our wagon ripped the wire grates from a window and jumped out.  The third man had a small box – he threw it out of the window and then jumped himself.  It was then that the shooting started.  The first two men escaped, but they shot the third man dead and kept his body for two days in our wagon.  While we were still in Szeged, the Russians warned everyone that if anyone tries to escape, their entire wagon car would also be punished.  So, we were punished.  For two long days, we were denied a drop of water.  We were very thirsty.  They buried the third man in a shallow grave beside the railroad tracks. 

February 5^th, 1945 (Monday)  The train stood still in Temesvar (Timosoara, Romania) while we watched hoards of Russian soldiers with heavy weaponry travel past us, towards Hungary. 

February 6^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  In Karasebes.   

February 7^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  In Orsova (Romania) 

February 8^th, 1945 (Thursday)  In Simian, Romania.  Here, a great deal of weaponry was being stored.  

February 9^th, 1945 (Friday)  We traveled further east to Cerena-Bals. 

February 10^th, 1945 (Saturday) In the city of Piatre-Olt (Piatra-Neamt, Romania).  Here they sent back half of the guards back to battle in the slaughter fields of Slatina-Potcova. 

February 11^th, 1945 (Sunday)  Baranyes, Chitila. After two days, we were again given water.  Being thirsty is worse than being hungry.  In the morning, we arrived in Bucharest (Romania).  For the first time, the train took on food and coals.  Our spirits were pretty much broken by now. 

February 12^th, 1945 (Monday)  In Braila (Romania), from here, we traveled over the Szeret River in a northerly direction. 

February 13^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  It is Fat Tuesday (Shrove Tuesday) but no Paprikash and Doughnuts that we always had to celebrate back home.  Today everyone on the train only spoke about their homes – about how good the Paprikash would taste at home and about how good a glass of wine would go with it. 

February 14^th, 1945 (Ash Wednesday)  In Jassi (Iasi, Romania).  Here, for the first time, we received a little sugar and salami.  Then we were transferred into Russian wagons. The Russians hacked a small hole in the corner, this was our toilet for 80 people.

February 15^th, 1945 (Thursday)  In Kisinev (Kishinev), Besarabien (Bessarabia). 

February 16^th, 1945 (Friday)  We arrived in the Russian Ukraine.  It still had snow. I ate the last piece of bread from home that I had so long spared.  At two o’clock, we traveled over the river Nyester in Szlobotka. 

February 17^th, 1945 (Saturday)  It snowed a great deal.  Today they removed Wendel Endrodi from our wagon, as he was sick. 

February 18^th, 1945 (Sunday)  We continue to travel east in the Ukraine.  The landscape is wide open here. 

February 19^th, 1945 (Monday)  More towards the East over the Nyepfer (Dnepr River) by Nyeppropetrosk (Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine).  Here it is very cold with snow.  Today, we will not receive anything to eat. 

February 20^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  More traveling. 

February 21^st, 1945 (Wednesday)  We arrived in the town of Lisicsansk (possibly Lugansk, Ukraine).  Today is exactly one month since we were made captive. 

February 22^nd, 1945 (Thursday)  As of today, it’s been three weeks of being on a train, from Kiskunhalas to Lisicsansk, on the river Donetz (Donats River, Ukraine).  Here we were made to depart the train and walk eight kilometers to a broken down building with no doors or windows.  We were all made to bathe in cold, stinking water – from our heads down to our toes.  We almost froze from the cold.  Then we received no food all day – finally a little food at midnight.  We were all finished from exhaustion and no food.  Then we had to march three kilometers to a camp.  The camp consisted of six large brick buildings, each three stories high.  The insides were not finished; there was only a wood frame, but it had no doors or windows. 

February 23^rd, 1945 (Friday)  After a 22 day train ride, we finally arrived in our paradise.  It had three rows of barbwire fending, three meters high – to keep us in captivity.  There were armed watchtowers all around, so that no one could escape.  Since January, they had already 450 prisoners here.  They had already started to use the wood to make doors and windows – and in the rooms – to make bunk beds.  The wood was green.  The beds were frozen and covered with ice.  We had nothing, no straw to make mattresses, nor blankets, nor pillows to keep us warm.   We were always freezing, we always had colds and many of us had bad skin rashes.  The cuisine was watery cucumber soup and two tablespoonfuls of cornmeal. 

February 24^th, 1945 (Saturday)  Received a small piece of Barley bread. 

February 25^th, 1945 (Sunday)  Today we were given some type of vaccination in our backside. Andreas Vejtei, Heinrich Schneider and I – along with nine others are put in one room.  In the room is an old stove that doesn’t work.  We fixed it – and with the wood we gathered, it provided a little heat to keep us from freezing. 

February 26^th, 1945 (Monday)  Today was the first roundup in the camp by the Russians.  They stole all our Hungarian money, pocket mirrors, wallets and anything else they took a fancy to. 

February 27^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  We are continuing to settle in.  We dug a fifty-meter long ditch for a toilet. 

February 28^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  We made our room orderly, cleaning it with lime.  We received glass for one window. 

March 1^st, 1945 (Thursday)  We spent the entire day repairing and fixing up the camp, bombs and fire damage had ruined it.  The roof has many holes and the rain pours onto the third floor.  The weather is sunny today.  Many people already have head and body lice.  The Russians all have lice. 

March 2^nd, 1945 (Friday)  Always more of the same – fixing and repairing. 

March 3^rd, 1945 (Saturday)  Bathing, shaving, clothing and room cleaning.  We gathered material to heat our stove with. 

March 4^th, 1945 (Sunday)  Received orders for who will do what jobs in the coal mine.  Today we received our second vaccination. 

March 5^th, 1945 (Monday)  A strong snowstorm.  We’re preparing for the next mornings work in the coal mine.

March 6^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  Today, it was very cold.  We were assigned to the Woroschilofka coal mine. 

March 7^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  Still working in the camp.  Lots of snow and very cold. 

March 8^th, 1945 (Thursday)  Today they burned the clothes of 24 women.  They had to stay in the freezing cold camp for three days with no clothes until the Russians got them clothing. 

March 9^th, 1945 (Friday)  Still cold.  Today the Russians made us move from the room we’ve spent so much time fixing up into an awful, dirty room.  We had to sleep on the dirty floor for two days before they gave us bunk beds. 

March 10^th, 1945 (Saturday)  More stormy, cold weather.  Today, no bread – only twice, Cabbage Soup. 

March 11^th, 1945 (Sunday)  Today we received bread to eat and instead of Cabbage Soup, Barley Soup. 

March 12^th, 1945 (Monday)  We had to retrieve our food from a snow mound – they threw it there, instead of bringing it to our camp.  They feed us minimal food, it makes us so weak, and we are as hungry as wolves.  We think only of eating. 

March 13^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  This morning at 7 a.m., 71 men and 30 women walked 4 kilometers in deep snow to the coal mine.  They divided us up into three shifts, I received the third shift.  Everyone received 100 Rubles (Russian currency).  As of today, we just pay for our food. 

March 14^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  Again, they stuck us in another dirty room on the second floor.  It looked miserable.  We made the mistake of cleaning and fixing up our two previous rooms, so now they expect more.  We buried three Romanians today; they only lasted two months from the malnutrition of only cabbage and cucumber soup. 

March 15^th, 1945 (Thursday)  Today is Hungary’s Independence Day.  It was our first day of forced labor in the coalmine.  At 5 a.m., we received a small portion of cabbage soup (no bread), and were forced to walk 4 kilometers to the coalmine.  After working 8 hours without any food, we were forced to march back to the camp.  We received more cabbage soup and three tablespoonfuls of cornmeal as supper.  Twice a day, everything the same. 

March 16^th, 1945 (Friday)  The weather is warming up a bit.  Today we had 14 men drive 2 kilometers with a sled to bring wood to the coalmine; it was very hard work.  Andreas Vejtei and I bought 2 deci grams of cornmeal and we cooked it that night. With only the camp food, most people get weak and dizzy from hunger.  Today Ingenohr (Russian Guard) told me that Andreas Vejtei and myself would be doing woodworking from now on, instead of mining. 

March 17^th, 1945 (Saturday)  Me and 20 men brought heavy Oak tree stumps 1 kilometer from the train station to the coalmine on sleds. 

March 18^th, 1945 (Sunday)  Worked with the circular saw.  They gave me an extra food coupon for my good work.  I ate a double meal in the evening, but it didn’t fill me up, I’m still very hungry. 

March 19^th, 1945 (Monday)  Today, again 19 men pulled heavy lumber to the coal mine.  We were like oxen, pulling wood the entire day. 

March 20^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  Today I sold a piece of soap for 40 Rubles – I bought some food with it, but I’m still always hungry. 

March 21^st, 1945 (Wednesday)  It’s been two months today that we were taken from our homes.  We received our third immunization today, probably so that we won’t feel our hunger. The cucumber and cabbage soup is too thin to be nourishing.  As of today, I am the carpenter and foreman of the circular saw.  We are now making the frames for the new coalmine.  I have asked that A. Vejtei, H. Schneider, a man from Vaskut, a man from Csaszartoltes and a man from Soltvadkert work with me. 

March 22^nd, 1945 (Thursday)  Our group has started to dig two coalmines.  We are now making oak frames 3 ½ meters long and 2 ½ meters wide.  An old Russian, Ingenohr is too bossy and tells us how we should make the frames.  As of today, we received a card for upgraded food, which means we get two tablespoonfuls more water in our soup. 

March 23^rd, 1945 (Friday)  The snow is starting to melt a little.  You receive pay according to your job.  If you work in the coal mine, you receive 300 rubles a month.  We receive 200 rubles monthly; the other works receive 150 rubles.  The twice day soup costs 5 rubles a day (5 rubles daily times 30 days = 150 rubles a month in food costs) 

March 24^th, 1945 (Saturday)  The weather is cloudy.  I worked on the circular saw today; it’s about 100 meters from the pit.  There is no roof or any type of protection from the weather.  Today, another man died.  In the evening, A. Vejtei and I cooked cornmeal, we are always hungry.  The cabbage soap has no sustenance; it’s mostly water. 

March 25^th, 1945 (Sunday)  Sawed heavy pieces of wood today.  I bought from the bazaar 2 deci liters of Beans and 2 of cornmeal.  My hunger is intense. 

March 26^th, 1945 (Monday)  Today, I assembled heavy oak frames for the coal mine shaft.  In exchange for wood scraps, I received some cornmeal from a Russian, which I cooked that night.  The cabbage soup is too thin; it will not satisfy my hunger. 

March 27^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  Today, 2,100 men for OberSchlesien (Was part of Prussia, Germany, now part of Poland)  were brought to our forced labor camp.  They are already weak from hunger, but have good clothing and underwear.  They traded their clothes for food. 

March 28^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  In exchange for wood scraps, I received potatoes from a Russian.  We cooked the potatoes in the evening and we able to sleep better because of the food. 

March 29^th, 1945 (Thursday)  Today again 3 are dead, one from Scepel and two from Romania.  In exchange for tobacco, I received bread and ate it right away. 

March 30^th, 1945 (Friday)  Today is Good Friday; it’s very cold and windy.  We are still working out in the cold.  Our thoughts were on what was going on with our families at home – what they were eating and even if they were all still safe and sound at home. 

March 31^st, 1945 (Saturday)  Cloudy, windy weather.  More people are dying.  Hundreds are sick, I have diarrhea from the cabbage soup.  The dead are being stored in a chamber full of lime.  Every night, they are buried 200 meters from the camp, their clothes are removed and then their bodies are thrown into a mass shallow grave, without the dignity of a casket.  Ingenohr gave me tomorrow, East Sunday, off.  In exchange for wood scraps, I received beans and cornmeal and will add it to my cabbage soup. 

April 1^st, 1945 (Easter Sunday)  It is now ten weeks since the Russians took us captive.  I have a free day today.  To celebrate Easter, I cooked potatoes without any meat and ate it with my cabbage soup.  My thoughts were only on home today, I hope they are okay.  Here, it gets worse day by day.  More and more people are getting sick and dying.  The Russians have told us that we must work here until we all die.  It looks that way! 

April 2^nd, 1945 (Monday)  Now the hardest work goes on at the coalmine. Above the mine shaft are two huge cogwheels, which 18 – 20 women must pull, as each cogwheel goes into the shaft, they are filled with dirt by the men inside, then the women must pull the filled containers back to the ground again.  Just like you’ve seen in pictures of China, where they still operate like in the middle Ages, it’s the same way here.  The yelling goes on endlessly, the Russians screaming “Davaj” (Hurry) and “Bistra!” (Faster).  It is still very cold here.  When the ground thaws out a bit during the day, the women get their shoes stuck in the mud.  They have to bind wire around their shoes in order to work.  Every day, more people are getting sick and can’t go to work.  Every day, people die.  I am only writing about the people in our coalmine.  In this whole camp, 4,600 people are imprisoned and have to work in eight different coalmines. 

April 3^rd, 1945 (Tuesday)  A cold icy wind continues to blow all spring, it is still bringing snow from the east. 

April 4^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  I traded tobacco for a shirt, which I promptly sold for 170 rubles. I bought food with the money; 1 kilo of bread cost 25 rubles, 1 liter of milk cost 20, 5 eggs cost 25, 2 deci-gram sugar for 35 rubles, 2 deci-gram salt for 16 rubles, 4 deci-gram beans for 10 rubles and 4 deci-gram of cornmeal for 8 rubles, which altogether cost me 139 rubles.  This will help keep me with nightly dinners for 1 – 2 weeks, to help satisfy my hunger. 

April 5^th, 1945 (Thursday)  The Russians gave us all a green jacket and pants Most of us, including myself, sold them at the bazaar in order to get food – we are so hungry. 

April 6^th, 1945 (Friday)  We continue to work hard making the frames.  The shaft keeps on getting deeper; soon the entire mountain will be excavated.  It is still very cold. 

April 7^th, 1945 (Saturday)  We were made to march to the mines by armed women today!  They are like amazons; they hit people who walk too slowly, due to lack of proper nourishment. 

April 8^th, 1945 (Sunday)  Today I asked Ingenohr for my Godfather to work with me.  Janos Kaszt is so weak that he can barely walk. 

April 9^th, 1945 (Monday)  The prisoners from OberSchlesia were all assigned to the older coalmine, they are dying daily.  They were already weak and malnourished before they even came here. 

April 10^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  It will never get warm here.  The Russians tells us to work faster – then we won’t freeze. 

April 11^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  We continue to sleep on the bare planks of the bunk beds, with only our clothes to keep us warm.  Many people have skin rashes all over their bodies.  There is only one nurse here; she only has a thermometer – no medicine – no bandages – nothing to help the sick.  Those with 41-Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit) fever don’t have to go to work. 

April 12^th, 1945 (Thursday)  The snow is slowly melting.  I wish it would finally get warmer, so that we won’t have to keep suffering from the cold – we have enough suffering already. 

April 13^th, 1945 (Friday)  I sold a pair of pants so that I could buy some food at the bazaar.  With only the food at the camp, no one can survive.  Every day, people die. 

April 14^th, 1945 (Saturday)  They are constantly pushing us to work harder, it is crazy.  We continue to build frames, which go deeper and deeper into the mine. 

April 15^th, 1945 (Sunday)  Snow again today!  I had a 41-degree fever (105.8 Fahrenheit), so I stayed in the camp today.  I lay in my bed all day.  By the evening, my fever had gone down to 39 (102.2 Fahrenheit), so I’ll have to return to the mine and work tomorrow.

April 16^th, 1945 (Monday)  When Ingenohr returned from lunch at home today, he brought me a piece of cornbread and two potatoes – to help me get better. 

April 17^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  The only help for a fever here is a cold compress.  If that doesn’t help, then they’ll put you in the lye chamber and then bury you in the grave, where many are already resting.  A man’s life here is only worth that of a fly.  They are determined to let us starve to death – that’s what they always say! 

April 18^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  Today is my daughter, Christine’s birthday.  She is 8 years old.  I thought of home the entire day.  I had a free day today, so I washed and repaired my pants.  A roommate, from Hajos (Hungary), died today.  In the evening, they buried four men. 

April 19^th, 1945 (Thursday)  They won’t even let you rest at the end of the workday in the camp, there is always something that has to be fixed.  We walked 1 – 2 kilometers to retrieve re-usable building materials from destroyed buildings for the camp. 

April 20^th, 1945 (Friday)  My hunger is so strong.  There is only saltwater in the cucumber soup.  The bread they give us is half full of inedible weeds.  Three men died today. 

April 21^st, 1945 (Saturday)  Some days, it’s not so cold.  In exchange for excess wood scraps, the Russians give me food – it helps a little bit.  The people who work in the mines can’t do anything on the side, so they end up dying sooner. 

April 22^nd, 1945 (Sunday)  We were sent to another building in the camp today, it even has a different kitchen.  Now we have to fix up this place on our only day off.  What a Sunday! 

April 23^rd, 1945 (Monday)  For the second time, I stayed in the camp sick, but was not allowed to rest, I had to nail together tables and chairs.  For my efforts, I received a bowl of saltwater cucumber soup. 

April 24^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  Still sick in the camp.  I washed my clothes and repaired my pants. 

April 25^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  My day off.  Had to work again in the kitchen, I made tables and benches out of old wood. 

April 26^th, 1945 (Thursday)  Back to the coal mine.  They were waiting on me to return, as they are desperate for more frames.  Today we finally received our pay; it was high time, as we had all run out of money to pay for our meals.  They want us all to starve. 

April 27^th, 1945 (Friday)  Ingenohr gave us all 6 meal cards for the kitchen – since we had to work so hard to make the frames they are in desperate need of. 

April 28^th, 1945 (Saturday)  The Russians are just crazy, they keep on pushing us even though we are so weak from hunger.  Every day people die while working or marching to the mines. 

April 29^th, 1945 (Sunday) “Razzia” (roundup) again!  The Russians took whatever they wanted from us. 

April 30^th, 1945 (Monday) The Russians are acting crazy – as they are excited that tomorrow is May 1^st! 

May 1^st, 1945 (Tuesday) The Russians got drunk today on vodka and rode around in trucks and sang songs like crazy men.  But we prisoners had to work today.  The Russians said the coal is for the Red Army, that’s why they received the vodka. 

May 2^nd, 1945 (Wednesday) The Russians were all sick today from drinking too much yesterday.  We only received cucumber soup today.  Every day, 2 – 3 people die here. 

May 3^rd, 1945 (Thursday) The Russian residents here are beginning to plant their gardens.  The ground is as black as the night and very fertile. 

May 4^th, 1945 (Friday) We ate some oily cakes from the bazaar, even though they’re bad for your stomach, we are so hungry. 

May 5^th, 1945 (Saturday)  The weather is slowly getting nicer, but my hunger is getting worse.  Not a day goes by that 2 – 3 people die here. 

May 6^th, 1945 (Sunday)  In exchange for scrap wood, the Russians usually give me food or sometimes even money so that I can buy whatever food I want at the bazaar.  My only thoughts are on food, then on dying. 

May 7^th, 1945 (Monday)  I sold my pillow from home for 200 rubles and bought some food.  My hunger never leaves me day or night.  Our monthly pay is only 180 – 220 rubles, which is not enough to even pay for our lousy camp meals of watery soup. 

May 8^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  We don’t know what the matter is, but the Russians are pushing us harder and harder to work. 

May 9^th, 1945 (Wednesday) My day off.  Around afternoon, everything went crazy, the Russians told us that the war had ended, Berlin fell and Hitler is dead!  I cooked a few potatoes and ate them with my cucumber soup.  Many of us prisoners are saying that we’ll soon be going home.  (Hitler committed suicide on April 30^th, the Germans officially surrendered on May 7^th) 

May 10^th, 1945 (Thursday)  There will be no more days off, as the Russians said that in the short time we’d be here, we’ll have to work hard.  Some people believe them, but others say to only wait – as they’ve lied to us often. 

May 11^th, 1945 (Friday)  It only took two days for them to change their story.  Now we have to wait until everything is built up again in Russia before we can go home.  Now everyone here realizes the hopelessness of our situation. 

May 12^th, 1945 (Saturday)  I sold a blanket that I had brought from home for 350 rubles.  I bought some food at the bazaar.  Many people lie in their beds sick and can’t ever return to work.  Every day, these sick hungry people end their suffering by dying.  Eternal peace. 

May 13^th, 1945 (Sunday)  I bought 1 liter of milk for 20 rubles and promptly drank all of it.  I also bought 20 potatoes for 20 rubles and cooked them in the evening.  We have headaches and are very dizzy from the lack of food. 

May 14^th, 1945 (Monday)  We are pushed to work harder to make the oak frames for the mine.  In the camp, there are so many people who lie in their beds; they will never be able to return to work. 

May 15^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  The Russians sent many sick and injured people, who can’t work anymore to Kolchoss, where there is easier work. 

May 16^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  Even though it was my free day; I still had to work in the camp making doors and windows.  I just want to scream at how badly they treat us. 

May 17^th, 1945 (Thursday)  One of our countrymen from Csepel/Budapest, died today.  Just about everyone has severe body rashes and open wounds.  There is no medicine to treat us, what doesn’t heal on it’s own will cause our deaths.  Many people’s teeth are falling out. 

May 18^th, 1945 (Friday)  No more talk about going home.  The work goes on even though we are all very weak.  The food I get in exchange for wood scraps helps me a great deal.  Andreas Vejtei and I work together and cook together, when we have extra food.  We are trying to hold on as long as we can.  Perhaps one day, we’ll be freed from this paradise. 

May 19^th, 1945 (Saturday)  “Razzia” (roundup) again!  They stole our mirrors, scissors, etc.  We cannot defend ourselves. 

May 20^th, 1945 (Sunday)  Pentecost – we received 4 pieces of a honey cake in the camp today; we had to pay 2 rubles extra for it.  It tasted good, as we only have cabbage or cucumber soup.  Even though today is a holiday, we had to work.  Even the sick were made to work today.  They make us work twice as hard on holidays. 

May 21^st, 1945 (Monday)  Pentecost Monday – we talked only of the special cake that’s served on this day at home.  It’s been four months since we’ve been imprisoned.  They are driving us crazy with work.  Every day, they yell “bistra” (faster). 

May 22^nd, 1945 (Tuesday)  I sold a hand towel and a wool jacket for 80 rubles. I bought cornmeal, sugar and four eggs at the bazaar for the money.  I cooked half of everything and ate it right away.  Every day, more people are dying, most from Romania and the Schlesier. 

May 23^rd, 1945 (Wednesday)  With the camp food alone, you can only starve.  So many people are sick in the camp; they can’t go back to work. 

May 24^th, 1945 (Thursday)  A strong wind and rain all day today – we still had to work in the heavy rain, with no covering to protect us.  My wet clothes kept on tugging at my body rash; it hurts and makes the rash worse by opening up raw sores. 

May 25^th, 1945 (Friday)  The outlook is bleak.  If they don’t start feeding us more and give us better food, we’ll all die. 

May 26^th, 1945 (Saturday)  In the four months of our imprisonment, we received our first ever noodle soup today.  I was sick the whole day with stomach pains, but I still had to work.  So many of the others are too sick and weak to work. 

May 27^th, 1945 (Sunday)  Another rumor went around today about going home, if it continues the same way it has, then our only hope of going home will be to the hole they bury the dead in.  No day goes by that people don’t die here. 

May 28^th, 1945 (Monday)  After two days of heavy stomach pains, I begged a Russian to bring me tea and 6 pieces of bread from home.  I had to pay him 35 rubles.  After two days of not eating the cabbage soup, I was better. 

May 29^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  A lot of people are dying from diarrhea and stomach cramps. 

May 30^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  My day off.  I went to the nurse and asked for medicine for my stomach cramps, she told me there was no medicine; that I should eat dry bread.  I told her they only feed us cucumber and cabbage soup, no bread. She told me that it wasn’t her problem. 

May 31^st, 1945 (Thursday)  I was sick and stayed in the camp today, as my fever was over 41 degrees (105.8 Fahrenheit).  Andreas Vejtei bought me bread and tea from the bazaar for 40 rubles.  I didn’t eat their soup.   

June 1^st, 1945 (Friday)  They made me go to work today even though I am still sick.  At noon, Ingehohr wrote me a pass so I could go back to the camp.  On the way back, I bought 6 eggs and cornmeal from the bazaar.  I’m cooking it now.  I’m not eating their soup, only dry food for a few days.  They work us all until we’re dead. 

June 2^nd, 1945 (Saturday)  Only heaven knows our suffering here.  So many people are sick and can’t work. 

June 3^rd, 1945 (Sunday)   I’m still sick.  They’re making me work tomorrow, but I’m so sick and weak that I can barely walk.  I’ve got more sores/abscess on my body now, they hurt like crazy.  The sore under my arm broke and it’s very painful.  We’re all going to end up dying here.  It will be a miracle if anyone ever sees home again. 

June 4^th, 1945 (Monday)  I had to work today even though I’m in great pain and very weak. 

June 5^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  I sold a Russian jacket and bought potatoes at the bazaar.  With only the camp food, you’ll starve.  Sometimes Ingehohr brings me a little food from his home after his lunch. 

June 6^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  We’ve been here over four months and we still haven’t gotten any mattresses or blankets.  The bugs won’t let you sleep at night. 

June 7^th, 1945 (Thursday)  I sold my pants at the bazaar for 150 rubles in order to buy food.  Those that can’t get money for food are merely shadows of their old selves.  Every day, people are going into eternity. 

June 8^th, 1945 (Friday)  The people who work in the coal mine every day can’t even wash themselves; as there is no bathing facility here.  Now they are finally building a cleaning facility so that clothing can be washed.   

June 9^th, 1945 (Saturday) The food is always terrible and so meager, you could go crazy from hunger. From the original 4,600 prisoners, many have already died.  They are replacing them with Russians.  Everything is hopeless; more and more of us are dying. 

June 10^th, 1945 (Sunday)  The weather is warm.  The work goes on here like crazy; the shaft keeps getting dug deeper and deeper.  It is now 60 meters deep, but they still haven’t gotten any coal yet. 

June 11th, 1945 (Monday)   At the mine, Russian women are selling eggs and milk; I bought both for 25 rubles to help ease my insatiable hunger.  It is a crime what they are doing to us. 

June 12^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  Today, a man from Hajos injured himself in the mine and ended up dead.  Another prisoner committed suicide by jumping from the third floor of the camp.  He also had three children at home. (John Knodel himself had three children) 

June 13^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  Sold a shirt and a towel for 250 rubles today in order to buy beans and cornmeal at the bazaar.  Selling my clothing has helped me survive. 

June 14^th, 1945 (Thursday) For the first time in five months of captivity, we were allowed to bathe today.  The facility is much too small for all 4,000 of us captives; there is a line of people waiting day and night in order to bathe. In our camp section, four more people died. A woman from Romania, a man from the Bacska and two from OberSchlesien. 

June 15^th, 1945 (Friday)  I traded a pair of socks for potatoes and cornmeal today; my hunger is so great. I suffer from constant headaches and stomach cramps. 

June 16^th, 1945 (Saturday)  Two more men died from our section; one from Csepel and one from Vaskut. (both in Hungary) 

June 17^th, 1945 (Sunday)  There will be no more days off, we all have to work every days, seven days a week now.  They say we are working too slowly.  We are going to have to work until we die.  A man hung himself in the camp today.  Another man in our section died.  I am only writing about the people around me who work in the same coalmine.  Now instead of 2 – 3 deaths daily, there are 5 – 6 deaths daily. 

June 18^th, 1945 (Monday)  The Amazonian women armed guards continue to hit and stomp on the people who are too sick and weak to walk on the way to and from the coal mine.   

June 19^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  The work continues to go on like crazy; even though so many lie in the camp, too weak to work.  We can barely maneuver the big oak trees to make the frames anymore.  We got two more men to work with us today.  

June 20^th, 1945 (Wednesday) We’re still building frames.  No coal yet from the mine. 

June 21^st, 1945 (Thursday)  It’s been five months today since the Russians captured us and took us from our homes.  It feels like an eternity already.  My hunger and the sores on my body are driving me crazy.  The sores are so itchy and hurt; I don’t sleep at night. 

June 22^nd, 1945 (Friday)  I still can’t sleep from the sores on my back and legs.  For the first time ever, we received some antiseptic cream, but it’s only enough to cover half the sores. 

June 23^rd, 1945 (Saturday)  We’re still making frames for the shaft, still no coals. 

June 24^th, 1945 (Sunday)  Another rumor about going home.  With 6 – 7 people dying daily, even if they released us, who would be left to go home? 

June 25^th, 1945 (Monday)  I dreamt about home last night and saw my father-in-law Grob and my brother-in-law Heinrich (Heinrich was missing in action, presumed dead during World War II, was never heard from).  I bought ½ liter milk, 4 eggs and 2 pieces of cornbread for 38 rubles at the bazaar.  I promptly ate everything. 

June 26^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  Those that are too sick and weak to work anymore have been written up and supposedly, they will be returned to their homes. 

June 27^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  Had to work in the camp today to repair doors, windows, tables and benches.

June 28^th, 1945 (Thursday)  Today they wrote up the names of the very sick and also took the names of their parents and children.  It’s only a bluff.  Every evening those who are buried are the one who went home. 

June 29^th, 1945 (Friday)  Today is Peter and Paul day (Saints Day).  At home, the harvest will have started.  Everything is still green here.  In honor or the day, we received two honey cakes with our soup. 

June 30^th, 1945 (Saturday)  It was so cold and rainy today that we worked in our winter clothes.  The sores on my back and legs are so bad, they drive me crazy.  During the day, my pants rub the sores raw, at the night, the sores hurt so much that I can’t sleep.  I also can’t sleep because I’m hungry and have my doubts about whether I’ll ever see my homeland and my family again.  The future is doubtful. 

July 1^st, 1945 (Monday)  The camp food quality continues to worsen.  The soup they now cook stinks and is bitter tasting.  Every day, more people get sick from it and die. 

July 2^nd, 1945 (Tuesday)  The food has never been as bad as it is now.  People are falling from starvation on the way to the mine, at the coal mine and some on the way back to the camp. 

July 3^rd, 1945 (Wednesday)  A man from Vaskut died today, he had one daughter and 200 acres of farmland at home.  Who will take care of his fields and his daughter? 

July 4^th, 1945 (Thursday)  A day off.  Today they brought back Lajos Nagy to the camp; he had escaped and was gone for three weeks.  The Russians beat him severely and locked him in a basement room for three weeks with only a small piece of bread and 3 dezi-gram of water. 

July 5^th, 1945 (Friday)  Three men and a woman were buried today from our section.  Every day, 5 – 6 people go into eternity. 

July 6^th, 1945 (Saturday)  After four months of digging, coals were produced at 63 meters deep.  The Russians were very happy. 

July 7^th, 1945 (Sunday)  The coals are only one meter thick.  Now they have to excavate 20 centimeter of stones so that the men can enter the shaft on their hands and knees. 

July 8^th, 1945 (Monday)  The coals are now coming. They are bringing evergreen trees from the forest, which we cut into 10-centimeter thick, 2-meter long lumber, with ten large posts for support. 

July 9^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  Today was a solar eclipse, it got very dark for a short time.  They are needing even more lumber for the mine. 

July 10^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  Cloudy weather.  I’ve got a big sore/abscess on my right knee that hurts so much.  It’s hard to work. 

July 11^th, 1945 (Thursday)  My day off.  I put a warm compress on my sore knee; the pain is driving me crazy.  There are still many sick in the camp, they lay in the sun and some go to sleep into eternity. 

July 12^th, 1945 (Friday)  I dreamt about home again and saw my wife Kati and my daughter Christine in my dream.  I hope that I can see them while I’m still living, but it doesn’t seem that that will happen. 

July 13^th, 1945 (Saturday)  They gave us 20 pieces of sugar cubes.  Now we have to work 12 hours a day.  They need a lot of lumber for the mine.  Two others died today by us. 

July 14^th, 1945 (Sunday)  I am 38 years old today.  They made us work very hard today.  The old engineer often brings me food from his mid-day meal.  At night, I had a piece of bread with sugar. 

July 15^th, 1945 (Monday)  Bought a liter of milk and ½ kilo of sour cherries for 20 rubles and ate everything right away.  My hunger is so great that if I get food, I have to eat it right away. 

July 16^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  We worked 12 hours today; they need the lumber so much.  For our efforts, we get a bowl of cabbage soup with a small piece of bread in the morning.  In the evening, we get the same thing.  What they feed us is not enough to survive on. 

July 17^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  We protested today, we are weak and dizzy from hunger.  They gave us 6 small pieces of cornbread. 

July 18^th, 1945 (Thursday) My day off.  They made me work repairing doors and windows again until the evening.  I didn’t even have time to wash my clothes. 

July 19^th, 1945 (Friday)  Three men and a woman went to eternity today.  Now there is no talk about going home.  My sores are slowly healing, the greatest pains have lessened. 

July 20^th, 1945 (Saturday)  A huge thunderstorm soaked us to the skin all day while working.  They keep on pushing us for more wood for the mine. 

July 21^st, 1945 (Sunday)  Today marks 6 months, a half-year since we’ve been imprisoned.  It feels like it’s been a year.  Always hungry, a person could go crazy. 

July 22^nd, 1945 (Monday)  It’s Heinrich (his son) and Kato (his daughter) birthdays today.  Are they still living and still at home?  I haven’t heard from home. 

July 23^rd, 1945 (Tuesday)  We unloaded dynamite from the train station today, they need it for the coalmine.  In exchange for wood scraps, I receive sometimes bread or potatoes from the Russians at noontime.  It helps. 

July 24^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  Again two more dead, one on the way to the mine and one died in the camp.  We’ll all die from the beet/turnip leaf soup. 

July 25^th, 1945 (Thursday)  It was supposed to be my day off, but they made me work today making lumber for the mine.  It rained all day and soaked us through to the skin.  We are weak and dizzy and have constant headaches.  It makes you crazy. 

July 26^th, 1945 (Friday)  They are pushing us like crazy at the mine.  The people who work in the mine come out so dark and dirty, you can barely see them.  The bathing opportunities are so slim here that these people are constantly filthy.  They will die in their filth. 

July 27^th, 1945 (Saturday)  Another dead today.  Many more are sick.  If this keeps up, then we will all slowly stay here for eternity. 

July 28^th, 1945 (Sunday)  I sold a pair of shoes for 300 rubles and bought cornmeal.  Andreas Vejtei and I cooked it that night in the camp.   

July 29^th, 1945 (Monday)  Two more people died today, our numbers are dwindling. The Romanians/Germans and Schlesier have the most dead.  Also, the Hungarians from Hajos, who drank a lot of wine at home and some from the Budapest area are all mostly in their final resting places. 

July 30^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  They pushed us extra hard today, they needed a lot of wood for the mine.  The whole day they yelled, “Davaja” and “Bistra” (faster, hurry up!). 

July 31^st, 1945 (Wednesday)  Now there is no more talk about going home.  By the time Russia’s rebuilt, we’ll be dead.  Every day, people die here. 

August 1^st, 1945 (Thursday)  My day off.  I washed and mended my clothes.  Everything is turning into rags. 

August 2^nd, 1945 (Friday)  I sold my boots today at the bazaar for 450 rubles and bought some food.  You starve with only the camp food. 

August 3^rd, 1945 (Saturday)  The second mine is now also 110 meters deep, so we must also provide wood for the second mine.  We work in three shifts; the mines require an enormous amount of wood.  Good black coals are the result of our labor. 

August 4^th, 1945 (Sunday) It rained on us the entire day, but we weren’t allowed to stop working.  My sores returned, my entire back and legs are covered with open sores that hurt so much.  The sores hurt me day and night. 

August 5^th, 1945 (Monday)  I cooked cornmeal tonight to help alleviate my hunger pains.  On top of my sores, bugs at night won’t let me sleep. 

August 6^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  The Russians are saving the Oak trees for use in making streets, so we have to use fir trees for the mines now. 

August 7^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  So many captives are lying sick in their beds.  The beet and cucumber soup gives everyone diarrhea. Most people can’t even walk anymore. 

August 8^th, 1945 (Thursday)  My open sores hurt me so much that I’ll soon go crazy.  During the day, the open sores rub against my clothing, at night, they won’t let me sleep.  Today was to be my day off, but they made me work at the mine. 

August 9^th, 1945 (Friday)  In the area, rye and wheat are beginning to ripen, the harvest will soon begin.  We hope that after the harvest, we’ll be getting better food than beet leaves and cucumber soups. 

August 10^th, 1945 (Saturday)  Ears are growing on the corn.  We’re eating whatever we can find raw from the fields – corn, cabbage, carrots and cucumbers.   

August 11^th, 1945 (Sunday)  If you have money, you can buy food at the bazaar.  If you don’t have money, you’ll starve from only the camp food. 

August 12^th, 1945 (Monday)  I’ve been sick for a few days already, but I still have to go to work. 

August 13^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  I was sick in the camp today with a 41-degree (105.8 Fahrenheit) fever.  To my further misfortune, I have severe stomach cramps and diarrhea.  I am very weak. Kathi (his wife) has her birthday today. 

August 14^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  Still sick with a 41-degree fever.  A. Vejtei brought me potatoes from the bazaar and cooked them for me.  I will only eat dry foods, no more soup from the camp. 

August 15^th, 1945 (Thursday)  I’m still sick in the camp with a high fever and am very weak.  When you see all the sick people here who can’t even walk, then you lose your hope of ever going home. 

August 16^th, 1945 (Friday)  My condition worsens.  I can barely walk, and am getting weaker.  They brought me eggs and sugar from the bazaar to give me strength and help my stomach improve. 

August 17^th, 1945 (Saturday)  I sold a pair of pants for 200 rubles and bought eggs and bread. I will only eat dry foods, no camp soup. 

August 18^th, 1945 (Sunday)  My fever will not go away.  They brought me black tea from the bazaar to drink instead of water.  The sick here who drink the camp water and eat the camp soup never get better. 

August 19^th, 1945 (Monday)  A Vejtei brought me eggs and a ½ liter vodka from the bazaar.  Maybe this will help me. 

August 20^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  The Russians celebrated and danced today, as the war with Japan is now also over.  Back home in Hungary it’s St. Stephan’s day, it was always a national holiday.  (Japan officially surrendered on September 2^nd) 

August 21^st, 1945 (Wednesday)  It’s been seven months today since the Russians have sent us to hell.  Will any of us return home?  I am still very sick. 

August 22^nd, 1945 (Thursday)  I didn’t get my full pay from the mine because I was so sick. 

August 23^rd, 1945 (Friday)  So many people are sick here.  They will slowly die of starvation and malnutrition. 

August 24^th, 1945 (Saturday)  My fever has lessened and I feel a little better. 

August 25^th, 1945 (Sunday)  The Russians gave us underwear.  I sold them right away for 150 rubles.  I bought eggs, sugar and bread with the money.  I’m as hungry as a wolf. 

August 26^th, 1945 (Monday)  I had only a 39-degree (102.2 Fahrenheit) fever last night.  I had to work at the mine today.  I could barely function from my weakness and barely made the march back to the camp at night. 

August 27^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  My fever went back up to 41-degrees (105.8 Fahrenheit), so I stayed in the camp.  A roommate, Josef Knipl died today, he had also been sick for a long time. 

August 28^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  I sold everything I could today to get money to buy me food.  Maybe the food will help me hang on and get better. 

August 29^th, 1945 (Thursday) My sores are giving me great pain today.  Everyone in the camp is sick of the cabbage and cucumber soups. 

August 30^th, 1945 (Friday)  The weather is already changing.  A chilly east wind is bringing winter soon.  Not many of us will be able to survive; we all sold our winter clothing in order to buy food to sustain us. 

August 31^st, 1945 (Saturday)  We are already afraid of the coming harsh winter here.  The war has ended; maybe they’ll let those left living, go home. 

September 1^st, 1945 (Sunday)  I worked at the mine today, my fever was 39-degrees. The weather was nice today.  Every day, more people die on the way to the mine, at the mine, or on the way back to camp. 

September 2^nd, 1945 (Monday)  I am still very dizzy and weak, but have to work hard. The mine is producing a lot of coal. 

September 3^rd, 1945 (Tuesday)  a Romanian and myself had to work repairing two houses near here that were damaged in the war. 

September 4^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  A Russian working on the roof said that young Russians who fought against Hitler would be coming here to work in the mine. 

September 5^th, 1945 (Thursday)  I am feeling a little better.  I am still as hungry as a wolf.  Every day, 3 –4 people die. 

September 6^th, 1945 (Friday)  I bought a plateful of cooked potatoes and two eggs from a Russian today and ate it right away.  

September 7^th, 1945 (Saturday)  A person from Csepel/Budapest and a 19 year-old Romanian died today.  I received potatoes and plums in exchange for scrap wood today.  I cooked the potatoes with cornmeal in the evening. 

September 8^th, 1945 (Sunday)  The camp food alone is not enough to sustain anyone. 

September 9^th, 1945 (Monday)  We have to make 300 bunk beds. The Russians put triple-thick wire around the houses we fixed up.  On top of the fence, they put barbed wire. 

September 10^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  The open sores have multiplied and gotten worse.  Now my hands are also covered.  There is no medicine.  When my clothes rub against the open sores, the pain is so great – Ill go crazy. 

September 11^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  It was cold, cloudy and windy today.  What will happen to us if we’re still here this winter? 

September 12^th, 1945 (Thursday)  I finally got a day off today.  I washed my clothes and mended them as best as I could.  This evening, I had to help bury three people. 

September 13^th, 1945 (Friday)  More and more are dying.  It is hopeless that anyone will ever get to return home. 

September 14^th, 1945 (Saturday)  Even though the war is over and their harvest was good, we are still only receiving watered down, salty, terrible tasting soup.  They still give us only cabbage or cucumber soup.

September 15^th, 1945 (Sunday)  Most of the bread they give us is half-full of inedible unchaffed grain – it sticks like burrs in your stomach and intestines. 

September 16^th, 1945 (Monday)  Today we built a huge rack at the mine 21 meters high.  It’s motorized and it pulls up the wagons full of coal and then returns the wagons to the mine for more coal.   

September 17^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  We see a lot of new things that they’ve stolen from Germany here.  Our workforce has dwindled due to malnutrition and starvation.  The Russians have also sent some to other slave labor places. 

September 18^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  Even though we were soaked from working in a cold, heavy rain all day today, they still pushed us, crying “Davaj! Bistra!” (hurry, faster!).  Most of us can barely stand by ourselves. 

September 19^th, 1945 (Thursday)  Now we have malaria here!  A lot of people have a very high fever and the shivers.  They are very sick.  The Russians said that for malaria, they’ll try and get medicine – we’ll see if any comes before everyone dies. 

September 20^th, 1945 (Friday)  Malaria got me!  I have a 40-degree fever (105.8 Fahrenheit) and am shaking.  I am some times so hot that I feel I’m burning up, and then get so cold that my whole body and even my teeth are shaking.  A third of our camp is sick with Malaria and can’t work. 

September 21^st, 1945 (Saturday)  It’s been eight months today that we’ve been here.  Two Hungarian girls, 17 – 18 year olds died today.  They are replacing the captives who’ve died with Russians. 

September 22^nd, 1945 (Sunday) Relief!  The pills came today.  We have to take 3 yellow pills and 3 blue pills daily.  The pills taste so awful, some people won’t take them.  I’ve been taking the ones other people won’t take; perhaps I’ll need them again. 

September 23, 1945 (Monday)  I’m still very sick with malaria.  Three more roommates died today.  It is hopeless. 

September 24^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  My fever will not subside.  I’m taking the pills as prescribed every day.  I’m amazed that I still live to see another day. 

September 25^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  My roommates told me that I was talking in my sleep all night.  I said that I couldn’t stay here anymore, that I must return home.

September 26^th, 1945 (Thursday)  I’m feeling a little better today, the cold shivers aren’t as bad.  A. Vejtei brought me cooked eggs and potatoes from the bazaar.  It was the first time I was able to eat in days. 

September 27^th, 1945 (Friday)  I’m still sick today.  Three more people died.  Only heaven knows the suffering we’ve had to endure. 

September 28^th, 1945 (Saturday)  I had to work today, my fever was 39 degrees (102.2 Fahrenheit).  I could hardly make the march to the mine.  Two more Schlesier died today.  About half of our original group is already dead and buried in the pit. 

September 29^th, 1945 (Sunday)  There was a frost today.  It is getting colder.  I’m still taking the malaria pills that I bought from others.  My fever is gradually lessening, but my hunger is still very great. 

September 30^th, 1945 (Monday)  Three more people died today, two from Hungary and one from Schlesien.  We are all so weak, we can barely stand alone, but they continue to make us work – always faster! 

October 1^st, 1945 (Tuesday)  No more days off, everyone must now work every day of the week.  More of the same hard work, more of the same people collapsing and then dying. 

October 2^nd, 1945 (Wednesday)  They replaced the crazy Amazonian women guards with handicapped men wounded in the war.  Good riddance to the women!  They were s quick to kick and hit the weak captives who didn’t march fast enough for them. 

October 3^rd, 1945 (Thursday)  They wrote up those over fifty years old and those that are sick and can’t work anymore. 

October 4^th, 1945 (Friday)  It was cold working outside today.  I have a strong hunger and my stomach aches.  I’m still supposed to work faster and faster. 

October 5^th, 1945 (Saturday)  I sold a pair of shoes for 300 ruble and bought food at the bazaar.  My hunger is so great! 

October 6^th, 1945 (Sunday)  They sent back the old and sick today.  They said they were being sent home.  I hope so.  Who knows?  They also sent back J. Kast, from my home town, Harta, Hungary. 

October 7^th, 1945 (Monday)  The cucumber soup is giving me severe stomach cramps again.  The sores on my back and legs are getting worse again.  They keep on pushing us closer to death.  They only sent back thirty persons, over a thousand of us have already died here.  They were buried without any clothes in a mass grave, with no headstone to mark their passing. 

October 8^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  I bought five eggs and some honey at the bazaar to ease my hunger.  I bought a pair of shoe from a Schlesier for 120 ruble and was able to sell the same pair at the bazaar for 300. 

October 9^th, 1945 (Wednesday) I was sick again and stayed in the camp today with a 41 degree (105.8 F) fever.  Three more roommates died today.  I have a huge open sore on my left leg, which I am putting hot compresses on.  Now my hunger is worse than the pain. 

October 10^th, 1945 (Thursday) Sick again with a high fever.

October 11^th, 1945 (Friday)  Still Sick. 

October 12^th, 1945 (Saturday)  Still sick.  I have stomach cramps and diarrhea.  Many young Russians arrived here today to work in the mine.  They were captured by the Nazi’s to work in Germany, now the Russians are making them work here one year before they are allowed to return home.  They are quartered in the buildings we recently repaired. 

October 13^th, 1945 (Sunday)  A. Vejtei bought a ½ kilo of beef, which we cooked in the evening, along with potatoes.  I’m feeling a little better today.  My fever is lessening, I hope I’m getting better. 

October 14^th, 1945 (Monday)  I had to go to work today.  My fever was 40 degrees (104 F).  I was so hungry and weak that I could barely stand up.  I was cold.  In the afternoon, Ingenohr sent me back. 

October 15^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  My fever went up to 41 degrees, so I was allowed to stay in the camp today.  People are dropping like flies this fall. 

October 16^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  Still sick today.  Stayed in the camp.  You can’t imagine how many sick people are here who can’t walk or stand up straight. 

October 17^th, 1945 (Thursday)  I still have a high fever.  Sometimes I’m boiling hot, sometimes freezing cold.  I’m hungry and have pain.  Winter is knocking at the door.  Many will not survive the winter. 

October 18^th, 1945 (Friday)  My thoughts were only on food and at home in Harta today.  It was a sad day. 

October 19^th, 1945 (Saturday)  I’m still very sick, even though I’m only drinking boiled water.  I’m only eating dry food – potatoes which I cook myself on the stove.

October 20^th, 1945 (Sunday)  I’m still sick and stayed in the camp.  My hopes are deflated after seeing all the sick people here who did daily. 

October 21^st, 1945 (Monday)  I was made to work today in the ice and snow.  The Russians gave us all green jackets and pants, which I promptly sold at the bazaar for 184 ruble in order to buy food. 

October 22^nd, 1945 (Tuesday)  I was sent to the infirmary today, as my fever is still very high.  The infirmary is the second to the last place you go to here, from here, most people go into the burial ditch.  There are twenty people in this room.  There are no beds, so we all lie on the dirty floor.  They give us bitter-tasting black tea and a small piece of bread to eat. 

October 23^rd, 1945 (Wednesday)  Two people died this morning in our sick room.  They brought in two more people to replace their spots on the floor.  I am so afraid that I’ll die, but I can’t give up hope. 

October 24^th, 1945 (Thursday)  Three people were dead this morning.  If this keeps up, it will be my turn soon.  We still only receive tea and bread.

October 25^th, 1945 (Friday)  Today only one person was dead.  They didn’t replace him.

October 26^th, 1945 (Saturday)  Today three people died in the sick room.  They don’t even cry out, they just die like they’re falling asleep. 

October 27th, 1945 (Sunday)  No one died in the room today.  I am feeling a little better.  I’m only praying for food, I have such strong hunger pains. 

October 28^th, 1945 (Monday)  Still in the sick room with a high fever.  I am still very weak.  They paid me for two weeks work and didn’t take money for camp food, as I didn’t eat any. 

October 29^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  I was sent from the infirmary to my own room today to my roommates A. Vejtei and A. Schneider.  I made it out from the death room!  I am still very sick. 

October 30^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  Andreas Vejtei bought me eggs and cornmeal from the bazaar for 80 ruble.  Now I can cook four meals with it. 

October 31^st, 1945 (Thursday)  I survived two very hard weeks with sickness.  I always kept the thought in my mind that I can’t die here, that I have to be able to return home to my family before it’s my turn to die. 

November 1^st, 1945 (Friday)  I’m still sick in the camp.  Josef Imgrundt from Bacsalmas, Hungary, died today, along with three others.  He was 21 years old.  No day goes by that people don’t die here. 

November 2^nd, 1945 (Saturday)  I helped bury Joseph today.  I’m feeling a little better and was able to work in the camp kitchen repairing tables and benches.  They gave me a big bowl of cornmeal.   

November 3^rd, 1945 (Sunday)  I was made to work at the mine today even though I’m very weak.  I was freezing cold all day.  Two more people died today from our mine. 

November 4^th, 1945 (Monday)  Worked on the saw all day today out in the open.  The snow was flying and it was bitter cold.  Still so weak. 

November 5^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  Worked with wet, unseasoned green wood that was frozen.  The saw barely could cut into it.  It has to be used, as they need the wood for the mine frames. 

November 6^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  My first saw injury.  A co-worker wanted to help me, he fell holding the wood and the saw cut my right hand.  We made a bandage from the back of my shirt.  No medicine for the pain. 

November 7^th, 1945 (Thursday)  It’s my eighteenth wedding anniversary today.  My thoughts were at home even though my pains were driving my crazy.  My wound is already beet red with infection, even my entire arm is swollen. 

November 8^th, 1945 (Friday)  A. Fussenecker from Csaszartoltes, Hungary, died today. 

November 9^th, 1945 (Saturday)  My hand wound is worse, all infected and swollen.  Since there is no medicine, I am prescribing my own.  Even time I urinate, I pour some of the water I passed over the wound.  It seems to be helping. 

November 10^th, 1945 (Sunday)  The nurse wrote me up as sick today.  It’s very cold and windy today. 

November 11^th, 1945 (Monday)  As my injury was job related, I don’t have to pay for my food.  When it gets better, then I’ll have to repair tables and benches in the kitchen in exchange for free food. 

November 12^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  My medicine must be working, as the infection is going away.  It’s still very sore and painful. 

November 13^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  We buried Jakob Onhaus today, he was fifty six years old.  We also buried three other people from our mine. 

November 14^th, 1945 (Thursday)  They are still making me work repairing tables in the kitchen even though my hand is swollen and bandaged.  The Russians gave me a pair of leather gloves lined with sheep’s wool so that I can work. 

November 15^th, 1945 (Friday)  They wrote up those that are very sick and old today.  They are still pushing me to fix things in the kitchen. 

November 16^th, 1945 (Saturday)  It’s very cold, windy and snowy today.  An east wind is blowing the snow like crazy.  I’m glad that I’m inside the warm camp kitchen, still repairing things. 

November 17^th, 1945 (Sunday)  It’s 19 degrees (2 F) outside today.  There’s 40 centimeter of snow on the ground already.  I don’t have to pay for the cabbage soup, but I do have to pay for the bread. 

November 18^th, 1945 (Monday)  I still have some money, so A. Vejtei bought me some eggs and cornmeal at the bazaar for 40 ruble.  I can make four meals with it.

November 19^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  My hand wound is slowly getting better, my medicine has helped.  Many others have died from similar wounds.  Those people died from high fevers and had severe pain, they didn’t die peacefully in their sleep. 

November 20^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  My thumb is still stiff and rigid, I hope it will also heal.  I’m now working in the basement, putting together a small kitchen where we can cook.  We’re not supposed to cook in our rooms anymore. 

November 21^st, 1945 (Thursday)  It’s been now ten months since we’ve been imprisoned.  It feels like ten years already. 

November 22^nd, 1945 (Friday)  They brought in tables and benches that were factory made and put them in our basement kitchen. 

November 23^rd, 1945 (Saturday)  It snowed the entire night.  The first shirt lost it’s way in the snow and arrived late at the mine. 

November 24^th, 1945 (Sunday)  I got another bad case of sores/abscess on my legs and back.  Most everyone is full of them, too. 

November 25^th, 1945 (Monday)  Today is my wife’s names day, Katharina day.  Will we ever celebrate it together again?  (It was the custom then to celebrate Names Days, not actual birthdays) 

November 26^th, 1945 (Tuesday)  I’m still sick in the camp today.  The weather is very cold and it’s snowing. 

November 27^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  I sold two pieces of soap for 40 ruble today to buy bread. 

November 28^th, 1945 (Thursday)  Today was pay day at the mine.  I didn’t receive anything, because I couldn’t work with my hand injury.  If you don’t have money, then you can’t eat the camp food and then have to die of starvation like so many already have done.   

November 29^th, 1945 (Friday)  I am still sick in the camp.  Since I’m repairing tables and benches, they’ve been giving me free soup, so I’m still among the living. 

November 30^th, 1945 (Saturday)  The winter is approaching.  I am feeling a little better.  Today was Andreas Names Day, so Andreas Vejtei and I celebrated by cooking four potatoes and some cornmeal. 

December 1^st, 1945 (Sunday)  After twenty-four days out sick with my hand wound, I returned to the mine today.  It was hard working in the cold, snow and wind. 

December 2^nd, 1945 (Monday)  I am hungry and very tired. I sold my summer clothes for 550 ruble and bought bread, cornmeal and eggs at the bazaar. 

December 3^rd, 1945 (Tuesday)  More and more Russians are filling the places of those of us who’ve died.

December 4^th, 1945 (Wednesday)  I sold my shoes and paid 150 ruble extra for a better pair of shoes, as my feet were always wet and cold working at the mine. 

December 5^th, 1945 (Thursday)   Had to work out in the open all day, it was very cold.  We’ll soon go to the ground. 

December 6^th, 1945 (Friday) Very cold again working at the mine today.  It&