My dad, Bert Martin, and 2 of his friends had quietly escaped from the column of PoWs in Czechoslovakia being marched through the night away from the camps by the Germans:
"It was a grand feeling to know we were free with no one to worry us. At intervals, we stopped and had a smoke from our precious store of tobacco. Soon we reached Teplitz."
Knocking on the door of a house showing a light, they were asked in and given "coffee and a small pancake each. We were glad of the rest and we decided to go to Stalag IVC in Teplitz. We had decided we would be better off in a camp now the war was almost over."
The road was packed with fleeing German soldiers. At a house further on Bert knocked at the door again. The man of the house asked them where the Russians were & what they would do:
"We said everything would be O.K. We made ourselves at home and turned on the radio. That day was Tues 8-5-45 and we heard an announcer say that Mr. Churchill would speak at 3 p.m. and the King at 9 p.m. We knew then the war was over. We left there at about 7.30 a.m. and made for the town of Dux, ½ mile away. "
They reached the main street of Dux and found a small working camp of 30 English P.O.W.s. where they were made very welcome:
"We soon had some potatoes boiling and had a good feed. Some of the men there had porridge made and gave us each a plateful with heaps of jam. They told us they had worked in the factory there which manufactured porcelain articles."
"The next thing was to decide what to do, to remain or carry on. We spoke to the corporal and he said his last orders from Stalag IVC at Teplitz were to remain. We decided to stay and I thanked God we did as some of our men were killed by Russian planes which machine-gunned the road where we would have been had we continued walking. I took off my boots and had a much needed sleep."
In the afternoon Bert witnessed the arrival of the Russians, real panic and lorries over-laden with people trying to get away:
"We saw quite a number of P.O.W.s go by, some of them British and many waved to us and yelled, ‘Get going.’ I must say that made me feel a little uneasy, it looked as though everyone was running away and we were being left behind. I consoled myself with the thoughts of the Russians being O.K. and we being British would make it quite alright."
"Soon after 3 p.m., the traffic suddenly stopped and we knew the road barrier had been closed. It was time to take shelter. We all went back to the billet when one of our lads ran in and gasped that he had just heard Churchill’s speech which informed the world the war was over but the Russians in Czechoslovakia would not stop fighting and if they continued we would declare war on Russia. It was a hard blow to us, we believed it as the chap said he had just heard the broadcast himself. I had visions of Siberia and more years as a P.O.W. and I felt really awful. As soon as we heard that terrible news, the Russians started sending shells into the town and that seemed to seal our doom. We were worrying over these things when in dashed another of our men with the correct news: the war was actually over! How great that was - from the worst news to the best."
"A few minutes after we had heard that wonderful news, we heard a rattle of tanks and a little firing of small arms and saw the arrival of the Russians in the main street. I had my first glimpse of a Russian tank. It was covered with soldiers (including women) who clutched a rifle or tommy gun each. They stood anywhere on the outside of the tank and all the time I was there, I did not see one Russian soldier wearing a steel helmet. One or two strolled over to us and our first job was to impress on them our nationality. Someone said ‘Engliski’ and that did the trick.
"Their faces widened with a grin and out shot their hands. They had a grip like a vice and a fist like a football. Due to languages, we could say nothing - only reciprocate in actions. They said something about America, England and Russia and put their hands together which dispelled any fears we may have had. They showered German cigarettes on us and from that day onwards we smoked like chimneys."
"From the top windows flags began to appear all along the street, the flags put out when Hitler first occupied Czechoslovakia.- the national flags, red and white halves and in the centre a clean, circular patch where the swastika was. Red flags were also prominent; gradually civilians appeared on the streets; many old women were weeping, so great was their relief."
from the diaries of
Bertram Haig Martin, Gunner 943454 - Royal Artillery - 67th Medium Regiment - Prisoner of War 229846
Another wonderful story from your dad's diaries and the most appropriate of postings. I was going to refer you to @wendyfrost but I see you two are already acquainted! :-)
Gloria, thank you. I word processed his diaries, 46,000 words with detailed info about all aspects of being a PoW.