Russian Defeat
The sound of fighting from the front began to be heard closer and closer. We hugged the floor when planes passed.
The war was not going so well for the Russians. The soldiers coming from the front looked awful, dirty and disheveled. They no longer had that extra pair of boots. They even offered to exchange the boots they wore for a bottle of vodka or cigarettes. Morale was bad and discipline had vanished. A few of the soldiers broke away and hid until the regiment was gone. Then they offered all their belongings for some civilian clothes. If refused, they threatened you at the point of a gun. The consequences could be dangerous either way. If a Jew was discovered helping a deserter, he'd be shot. if he didn't give in to the soldier's demand, he'd be shot. There seemed no way to remain neutral and live.
The requirements of the passing army were getting rugged. Citizens' committees were set up to handle the demands for lodging and food. Young girls and women were kept in hiding. Children were cared for separately. But the Russian soldiers were brutal. Soon we noticed the acceleration of the troop movement. They no longer remained overnight but kept rolling, line after line of moving vehicles, heavy wagons with huge wheels and with poor, exhausted horses mercilessly beaten by the drivers. The wagons were loaded with guns and small canons. The soldiers went on foot.
It was obvious that they were running away from the front. They were trying to save themselves and whatever they could take with them. Their mood was ugly and as the last Russian wagon rolled out of the village, they poisoned the wells against the approaching Germans.
