"The work in the munitions plant was
not only tedious but also continued for long hours seven days a week. The
mind and body were so drained, we wanted nothing more than sleep. We weren't
allowed to sleep long enough, but we weren't allowed to do anything
else...The laborers in my camp were mostly teenagers...Forced laborers
from mamy different countries were working at the factory. We were fed
but not well and not enough. More of us could have died. As it was, many
young men died, collapsing right there on the facory floor from malnutrition.
Or sometimes as we were walking from the facotry back to our barracks,
someone collapsed from exhaustion. A guard dragged the body to the
side, and we never saw that person again.
"Allied air raids. If we were working, we ran to the basement of the factory when we heard sirens. Some entire days were spent running from the work floor to the basement and back. The sounds of an air raid--the penetrating, pulsing cry of sirens, the screaming whistle of bombs falling and the explosion of bombs--are frightening. After a while, I stopped running from the barracks to the shelters. Other laborers also took the attitude that whatever would be, would be. We were simply too exhausted; our bodies too worn down to spend the energy running and then pushing our way into shelters. We just didn't care anymore. I 'd lie in my bunk thinking if a bomb hit me at that minute, it would do me a favor." "About a year and half later, the bombs did hit the munitions plant. I was in the basement, I wasn't hurt. The factory was damaged far beyond repair. The next day we were marched to another munitions plant and sent immediately to the production lines. Besides the additional time it took us to get to that plant, we worked longer hours and got less food. The Germans had children working there, standing on their feet all day long. Children fainted. Children died. Nobody paid attention. Other laborers kept working, or they would be dead. People stepped over the dead and kept going."
"We were working in the second factory about six months before it also was
bombed. We saw the factory was badly damaged. The next morning no guards
appeared to march us to work at another factory. Thre were no guards
at the gate and the gates were open. Many stayed in the barracks, some too afraid
to leave, others too weak. I was weak but went anyway. I was curious,
and I might find some food. Then I saw tanks and soldiers, driving and running
from one street to the other. Someone screamed, "Russians are there!" Everything
was one ragged confusion, but Soviet troops were definitely in Graz. " For
more, see: http://www.eugeniadallas.com
