Fred Kendal - May 25, 1983
Working with the Russians
When the Russians were parachuting in um, did your group--did you work with them at all I mean ??? activities or...
Well, how it happened that we even met with the partisans and the Russian troops is again that they had the search party that was going through and, and they were chasing us and like I recall that we were running--God, we were running day and night through, through swamps and through--we crossed woods that were so thick, there was, you know, was like--I remember it was like a jungle and, and they were just constantly chasing us for days until we crossed the river. I remember the river was--God it was a big river. And some people that just couldn't keep up remained behind. Of course, when we finally got--and, of course, the reason we ran--as it was told to us--the reason we ran in that direction is because we were aware already at that point that the Russian partisans were in, in that area. So when we fi...and that was like supposed to have been a safer area I supposedly. When we finally got there and, I think that um, the man--the young man and woman, you know, that were single or those that didn't have any families or whatever, yes they worked with the--they are cooperated with the Russians, very much and, of course, in some cases uh, the Russians were pretty tough on the Jewish people. They would send them out on very dangerous, dangerous, dangerous missions and they would laugh about it and stuff like that, but they did need the coop...the Russian the cooperation because these people that were there--the survivors--they knew the area. They, they knew--the Russian really only they would work with compasses and maps and so on and so forth and these people didn't need the compasses and maps they knew the--where to go and how to get around and they knew--I, I--it was a matter of interdependence I think they needed each other.
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