Bernard Hirsch - June 29, 1982
Deserting the Army II
And uh, the soldiers they took me and you, you know, they said, "How come you don't wear a bayonet?" Because all the soldiers they wearing bayonets--which one? The Gentile. "How come you don't have a bayonet?" So I told them, "I am not by this. I am, I am watching the Jews," I to...I, I gave them a story and I showed 'em there a book what--in the army they were selling books from, from Ru...how the Germans they are going--taking Russia. So I had the book, this book from the--from Russia. And they--something, I was just lucky. Because when they would have take me in I would never--they would have sent me to Poland. And I came on the--on where the bus stop is and I found there another Jew. But he was still walking around free. And I told him--I recognized him and I told him, "Listen, I ran away from the army, they stopped me now here. I have to get lost from here because they--in case once more they're going to check me, I think I'm a loser." And he said, I have--his name was ???, "I have a truck not too far from here. Go sit down in the truck and sit in truck. Don't go out of the truck." So I was sitting a whole afternoon in the truck there--a whole day almost. And at four o'clock he was going my way from there uh, to my town. Not too far--not to my town. And he left me about fifteen miles from my, my town. Or I knew it there in the woods how to get. So I crossed--I didn't go on the highway. I was going through the woods.
© Board of Regents University of Michigan-Dearborn