Eric Jurgens - Nazi joy camp

But it was not the lack of food that bothered Ruth. What weighed most heavily upon her young mind was the state of her only friend. Elizabeth would seemingly become better one day, then slip to a new low the following day. On her bad days Ruth and Elizabeth spent the time in each others arms if they were without men, together in the same bed, clutching tightly to each other with fear leaden hearts.

Their constant state of apprehension was not without reason. At first the condition of the returning soldiers had been marred and scarred to such an extent that they were frightening to both of the girls. For a long period of time Ruth did not see a soldier who was not missing an eye or a leg or an arm. Many of them existed almost in a state of insanity. The crazier ones were the most difficult to deal with. It was not uncommon for Ruth to have to rebuff an attack by some crazed old-young-man in order to save her life.

It was not until Ruth stopped to think about it one day about six months after she had returned from the SS Kamp that she realized that there was probably a reason why all her clients seemed to be nuts or on the verge of being. She knew that Hilde had something to do with it. She talked to several of the other girls and found out that they were not having the same trouble, at least not in the same number of times as she was. She was furious.

She went directly to the Fraulein Direktor and told her: "I can't stand it any longer. Everyone who comes to our cabin is a problem. I have one there already, one that you made for me, and I can't stand the constant stream of crazy people."

"Too bad, Jewish slut!" Hilde stormed at her. "You'll damn well take what's sent to you, Bitch. Ha, ha," she laughed cruelly.

"All right," Ruth said, trying to fight back her tears. "I know something about you that I think might interest the Kamp Kommandant."

Ruth collected all her inner forces in order to finish what she had started. "I know that you and Gretchen are lovers. That is forbidden," Ruth told her.

"Oh you do, huh? Well let me tell you a thing or two. The Kamp Kommandant doesn't see Jewish sluts. And he wouldn't believe you. Never! You try anything like that, Bitch, and you won't be getting any clients that will pay your food bill. Not even the nutty ones. Get out of here!" she screamed at Ruth.

Ruth left. She pondered for three days about taking revenge on Hilde and finally came up with a plan. She carefully observed the time that Hilde went into Gretchen's hut, then printed a note to the Kamp Kommandant and asked a soldier to deliver it for her. She did not sign it. Much to her joy the very next evening Hilde was caught in bed with Gretchen by the Kamp Kommandant himself. The following day Hilde was relieved of her duties and Gretchen was shipped off. Ruth suffered a tinge of regret about the unfortunate girl, but she told herself that she had to look after two people – herself and Elizabeth – and she couldn't be worried about Gretchen.

Ruth discovered that she had been right in her assumption that Hilde had been the cause of her problems. Her clients improved, somewhat. But Ruth's other problems commenced.

The Kamp had always been an orderly place considering that so many people were transferred through it day after day. There came a time, however, when this was not so. It took Ruth quite awhile to figure out the change. The troops that were wounded so badly that they could no longer fight were the only ones who were being sent back by the forward field Kommanders, but the others were deserting and passing through the Kamp. Day after day the number of police soldiers increased. They had an extra tough job. They had to sort out and apprehend the ones with illegal leave papers and more times than not force those who were still coming from the Fatherland onto trains at gun point to get them headed toward the front.

The clouds of dust around the camp never ceased. To Ruth they heralded the coming of troops from one direction or the other and of work beyond the scope of a normal human being's endurance. She was getting very little sleep and rest. By proclamation of the Kommander of Kamp East, the girls' cabins were open twenty-four hours a day. Each girl was permitted four hours off duty time, but as Ruth reflected, it seemed like a joke. To deny a soldier entrance, particularly ones coming from the front, was to encourage his wrath. From somewhere he would summon forth his meager strength and break down the door if he were not permitted to enter. The fact that it was during the four-hour free time for the girls was immaterial: he wanted sex, and nothing or no one was going to deny him perhaps his last opportunity to taste warm female flesh.

Ruth had tried reporting the second of these violations of her cabin to the soldier police. The sergeant to whom she spoke laughed at her, then had taken her behind his desk and without stopping his brutal and disgusting laughter, had tried to rape her. She fought him with all her strength but was losing the battle when an officer stepped into the office. The sergeant released her, saying for the ears of the officer, "You got any more complaints, you come to see Dieter Hausienzer." Ruth spat on the floor then turned to flee through the door. Something, what she would never know, made her look the man fully in the face for the first time. Her heart almost stopped. He continued to grin at her stupidly.

"You remember me now, Jew?" he wanted to know.

Ruth stepped backwards until she bumped into the wall. Her eyes were big and her face was terror stricken. She didn't seem to be able to say one word.

"What happened to your girl friend? Huh?" the sergeant asked, moving around the desk to her. Ruth cringed, trying to avoid any contact with him. "Best piece of ass I ever had – and in a meadow too. You remember don't you, Jew?" he hissed.

Ruth screamed. He stopped grabbing for her and retreated to his desk. A door flew open and another officer stormed out of his office. He glanced at Ruth then ordered her to leave. "We're not hearing any complaints from Jewish whores," he laughed. The sergeant joined him in laughter.

Ruth ran from the room blinded by tears. She was certain that the police sergeant, ex-truck driver, would be looking for Elizabeth. It seemed so unfair to her.

Ruth had gone only a few yards when she stopped to get control of herself. She leaned against a building, hugging her arms around her spent body. She breathed deeply and tried to think. What was she to do? If the sergeant should find Elizabeth he would surely drive her mad again – not that she was fully normal now. But Ruth felt certain that he would push the girl even farther back into obscurity of unconsciousness from which she had not yet fully come out of. She could think of no plan of action – nothing that she could do. She would just have to try to protect the girl as best she could.

She sighed heavily and pushed herself away from the building. She had taken only a couple of steps when she froze in her tracks. Nurse Hilde was walking on the opposite side of the street. Ruth watched her turn into the police office with a sinking heart. She reasoned that if Hilde knew that he was at the Kamp that she would be planning some torture – perhaps a final one – for both herself and Elizabeth. Ruth barely managed to walk back to her cabin.

Before Ruth could plan a course of action for herself and Elizabeth the whole problem was taken out of her hands.

Two days after she had seen the truck-driving sergeant of police, she was resting in her cabin, secure in Elizabeth's arms, when there was a tentative knock on the door. Ruth dragged her tired body to the door and almost screamed because of the frightful appearance of the soldier standing there.

His right arm appeared to be gone; his left eye murky with the lid half closed. He was absolutely filthy. His once blond hair now brown from dirt was matted to his head. And there was a scar running from his temple in a long sweeping curve to the tip of his chin. He reeked of sweat and sour body odor.