A Dinner

At dawn we continued southward on the autobahn, and after several miles, we turned left and drove into more elevated countryside. A tragic event occurred: one of the Frenchmen suddenly died, probably from a heart attack or stroke. He had to be placed on a truck bed, wrapped in a tarpaulin.

Spring had already arrived in the valleys, with lots of spring flowers and blossoming fruit trees along the roads, but up on the heights, snow still lingered at the roadside. Here we also encountered our first experience with winding mountain roads. When we finally arrived at the camp that was to receive our French passengers, there was a sense of disruption. They said the Americans could arrive at any moment, so we had to continue to another camp. The conditions there were the same, so the Frenchmen had to continue on to Theresienstadt, where we arrived late in the evening.

After passing the city limits, which were guarded by Czech gendarmes under SS supervision, we drove to a location where the vehicles were to be lined up and watched over by the city authorities. We then marched to the SS officers’ mess hall, which had probably once been a fine hotel. There, for a rare change, we were to be served a meal by the Germans and then spend the night. First, we were given a vegetable soup, followed by a meat dish. We couldn’t tell what kind of meat it was; it had an unusually sweet taste. Someone remarked, “I’ve heard human meat tastes sweet,” and after that, most of it was left on the plates.

I believe it was horse meat, as I know that tastes sweet. After that, we were to rest and sleep. Some could sit or recline in armchairs and sofas in the lobby, while the others had to sleep on the floor. Officers and nurses were accommodated in rooms on the upper floors.