Survivor Account from Arado Airplane Factory

Context and Setting

• Location: Arado, airplane factory in Germany
• Time Period: During the final days of World War II

Personal Experience

• Condition: The speaker was very sick with a fever and an infected finger.
  • Unable to perform work duties due to illness.
• Sabotage: The speaker was secretly sabotaging their work.

Incident at the Factory

• German Supervisor's Actions:
  • The speaker was beaten by a German supervisor, not the SS.
  • The supervisor wore high boots and stomped on the speaker, breaking ribs.
  • The beating was due to perceived inability to work, not discovered sabotage.

Assistance and Recovery

• Colleagues' Support:
  • Two girls in the same division helped the speaker after work.
  • They assisted in moving the speaker to a place for sick individuals.

Liberation

• Timing:
  • Liberation occurred on April 20-something.
  • Liberated by Russian forces reaching Wittenberg.
• Circumstances:
  • The plan was to kill the remaining workers but was not executed due to lack of time.
  • Speaker survived due to the hasty retreat of German forces and the timely arrival of Russian troops.