Harsh Camp Life

Rollwald was located between the cities of Frankfurt and Darmstadt and held about 5,000 prisoners. Each day began at 5:00 a.m. with roll call, which took some two hours as officers took their time updating their prisoner list. We were required to stand motionless, and many prisoners suffered severe beatings for not standing perfectly still.

Breakfast consisted of bread, which was made of flour, sawdust, and potatoes that were often rotten. Then we went to work in the swamp, digging trenches to drain the land for agricultural purposes. After we worked in the swamp all day without adequate footwear, our feet would swell up like sponges. Once my feet developed what appeared to be gangrene, and I feared they would need to be amputated.

At noon on the job site, we were served an experimental concoction of so-​called soup. It was flavored with turnip or cabbage and sometimes included the ground carcasses of diseased animals. Our mouths and throats burned, and many of us developed large boils. In the evening we received more “soup.” Many prisoners lost their teeth, but I had been told the importance of keeping teeth active. I would chew on a piece of pine wood or on hazel twigs, and I never lost mine.

Life for Me Improves

Late in 1943, we got a new camp commander by the name of Karl Stumpf, a tall, white-​haired man who started to improve conditions in our camp. His villa was due for painting, and when he learned that I was a painter by trade, I was given the job. That was the first time I was called away from working in the swamp.

The commander’s wife had a hard time understanding why I had been imprisoned, even though her husband explained that I was there because of my faith as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She took pity on me because I was so skinny and fed me. She arranged more jobs for me so I could be built up physically.

When prisoners from the camp were being called for fighting on the front lines toward the end of 1943, my good relationship with Commander Stumpf saved me. I explained to him that I would suffer death before becoming bloodguilty by taking part in war. Although my position of neutrality put him in an awkward position, he was able to keep my name off the list of those called up.

Last Days of the War

During January and February of 1945, low-​flying American planes encouraged us by dropping leaflets that said the war was near its end. Commander Stumpf, who had saved my life, provided me civilian clothes and offered his villa as a hiding place. Leaving the camp, I saw overwhelming chaos. For example, children in battle gear with tears streaming down their faces were fleeing before the Americans. Fearing that I would run into SS officers who would wonder why I was not carrying a gun, I decided to return to the camp.

Soon our camp was completely encircled by American troops. On March 24, 1945, the camp surrendered, flying white flags. How surprised I was to learn that there were other Witnesses in camp extensions who also had been held back from execution by Commander Stumpf! What a joyous meeting we had! When Commander Stumpf was jailed, many of us approached the American officers and testified personally and by letter in his behalf. As a result, three days later he was freed.