[European style] go home

On March 1943, 3, I officially embarked on my journey home.At 1 o'clock in the morning, I was waiting for the arrival of my military train at the Kharkov train station.The front of the platform was crowded with soldiers who went home on vacation like me. Everyone had the same hopeful and joyful smiles as me, and the whole place was filled with a happy atmosphere.I haven't felt such an atmosphere for a long time. After all, there is only endless panic and grief spreading on the front line.

To my surprise, however, I found that the radiance of this joy was not limited to the boys standing in front of the platform.When the military column on the opposite track stopped with the screeching siren sound, a group of cheerful figures jumped out of the opened carriage door. They were the new Hitler Youth Division (①) soldiers, all born in 1926. , that is to say, one year younger than me.They seem to have just been liberated from the harsh and lengthy military exercises in the training camp, so all of them expressed their gratitude for leaving the strict instructors, their curiosity about coming to a new land they have never set foot in, and their upcoming Here's to building something to look forward to.Since they have not yet experienced a real war, they are full of hope for everything.That's why I like to watch their expressions.

As a "veteran" who has worked hard on the battlefield for half a year - I think I am qualified to call myself this in front of them. Although I am only a transport soldier, I have the same pain as other soldiers who took up arms and directly participated in the battle. memories, so my smile has become less and less.Now I don't want to think about the peaceful life before the war, those days were so good that they didn't exist.

When our military train entered the station from the east, the whole platform was boiling, and everyone approached the train one after another, scrambling to jump onto the springboard of the carriage door.I was almost pushed into the car by external force, and the soldiers behind me didn't want to spend another minute waiting for the next shift.

I struggled to get a seat in the crowded train.Perhaps the carriage could have held 50 people, but it has now apparently swallowed at least three times that amount.The excessive carbon dioxide exhaled by the crowd caused the temperature in this closed room to rise sharply, and even made me take off my warm scarf in winter in Ukraine for the first time.I felt more relaxed and comfortable than I had been in months, barring the cramped space and the unbearable body odor of some of the neglected soldiers.

God behold, I have not had a good rest for two whole nights in preparation for this day.The consequence of being at ease is that my eyelids became heavier and heavier like lead, and finally drooped completely, and I also returned to the summer when I was 17 years old in this long-awaited dream.

I was born on June 1925, 6, on a sunny day, and my mother delivered Helmut and me in the hospital.At that time, it was not easy to take care of two baby boys of the same age at the same time.My father spent his days in the grocery store he had inherited from my grandfather, trying every means to persuade customers to buy things to ease the financial pressure on the family.Fortunately, the Sterns who run a tailor shop next door often help us, such as recommending customers to come to Schumann's store when they ask for a button change.

The Sterns are two kind and simple old people. They have spent their whole lives with needlework and made thousands of exquisite clothes.But I haven't seen them since the autumn of 1941, because all Jews have to take the train to the East (②), even the elderly over sixty.Their tailor shop was confiscated due to no one operating it, and it was later taken over by a young couple from Austria and turned into a bakery.

In August 1942, after graduating from Real Science Middle School (③), influenced by the conscription posters posted everywhere in the streets and alleys, Helmut and I decided to enlist in the army.Skipping the unpleasant medical examination experience, after saying goodbye to our parents, we went to two different locations for training: he went to the training camp in the Czech Republic, and I came to Leipzig (④).To this day, I still clearly remember every scene of the reporting day.

"Name?" the officer in charge of registration asked without looking up.

"Schumann, Albert." I can't wait to answer.At that time, the smile on my face was as bright as the sun in the sky.

"Go over there and line up to get the uniform."

The recruits who received supplies had already formed a frighteningly long line.I stood at the end of the line, wondering if I could get what was mine before sunset.Soon, a long tail was attached to my back, and we were like a huge snake, constantly elongating our bodies.

"God, there's such a long queue on the first day." The recruit behind me complained, "it seems that life here is not going to be easy."

"Hey, don't be so upset." I turned and gave him a big smile, "Where are you from?"

"Bitterfeld (⑤). Do you know Bitterfeld? It's right next to Leipzig, on the banks of the Mulder River..." He gestured as if I was afraid I couldn't understand German.

"I know, I'm from Dessau." I offered to shake hands with him, "My name is Schumann, what about you?"

"Erich Krantz." He showed a simple smile and held my hand awkwardly.Erich is a typical Anhalt (⑥) country boy, with messy dark blond hair and red cheeks dotted with freckles. He looks tall and strong, as if closing his eyes. You can see him picking up a hoe to plow the ground.

The friendship of wartime was precious and strong. In the days that followed, the two of us were almost inseparable, and it was Erich who gave me the courage and strength to persevere here.

Compared to the rest of the boot camp, I'm not at all strong.I'm only 5 feet 8 inches tall, but if I'm tall and strong enough, why would I end up in the boring, dreary Army training camp?At that time I was still bitter about not being drafted into the Air Force.

The life in the training camp is monotonous and tense, and the intensive training day after day has squeezed all my dissatisfaction into the most remote corners of my heart, so that I can no longer perceive its existence.Major Raeder, who was in charge of training us, treated us like a group of toy villains controlled by clockwork, and gave us various difficult tasks every day. Long-distance running with weight and shooting were the most basic training, and they were also two necessary tasks every day.He is almost like the evil Marquis de Sade (⑦), eager to order us at any time and place, and takes pleasure in watching us suffer.Once I was suddenly stopped by him when I was climbing a slope. After I stood up straight and saluted him with a military salute, he actually asked me to lie down immediately and do 50 push ups.You know, the bright sun that day was as unbearable as the heavy luggage.When I finished the amount he asked for, I had no strength to get up from the ground, but Erich helped me up.

In addition, Major Raeder often extended our training time for various reasons, so that we often missed the meal time.During that time, I hardly ever had a few good hot meals.

I spent more than a month in that army training camp, where I learned to use a rifle, drive a truck and a tank, dig trenches, fire artillery, etc. In this respect, I did learn a lot Something less, which qualifies me as a real respectable soldier.

The training camp organizes the recruits to listen to the radio news about the latest battle situation every day.In the autumn of 1942, all the good news was broadcast from it, so we knew that our army had repeatedly made great achievements in the Caucasus, fought heroically with the Soviets on the Don River, and Stalingrad was within easy reach.Countless acts of heroism and sacrifice inspired the hearts of us young adults, and God knows how much I wanted to go there to support!

This time God didn't tease me again. One morning in September, Major Raeder gathered us all and announced a major event that changed the fate of all of us: we received our first mission since joining the army, delivering needed armaments and weapons to the Don front.This also means that we are about to be formally incorporated into the army to serve, and I am about to become a truly honorable soldier!

The author has something to say: ①Hitler Youth Division: No.12 Hitler Youth Armored Division, a division affiliated to the Waffen SS, active on the east and west fronts.As a division of the Waffen-SS, a war crimes organization at the Nuremberg Trials.It is the only division mainly composed of members of the Hitler Youth League. Those who enlisted were all born in 1926. The sergeants and officers are all experienced veterans in the Eastern Front.

②"From the autumn of 1941...the train to the East": The Nazis transported a large number of Jews out of Germany from October 1941, and systematically slaughtered Jewish women and children.

③ Real science middle school: a type of general school that implements real science education in modern Germany, Russia and other European countries.It is characterized by being close to real life, offering practical courses, and cultivating middle-level technical talents engaged in industry and commerce.

④ Leipzig: The second largest city in eastern Germany, located in the center of the Leipzig Basin in eastern Germany, at the confluence of the Weiser Elster and Plesser Rivers.

⑤ Bitterfeld: a city in the east-central part of Germany.On the banks of the Mulder.

⑥Anhalt: German historical region.In present-day Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

⑦ Marquis de Sade (Marquis de Sade, 1740-1814): French, erotic writer, his works contain a lot of sexual violence. The word "sado" in SM (abuse and masochism, the abbreviation of sadomasochi in English) was developed from its name.