Illegal Organisation of Camp Life
From day one, life in the camp was coordinated by the leadership of an illegal organisation. All those who were seen as reliable and who had proven this through their previous activities were part of this organisation. I was accepted into the organisation after a few days. The aims of all the measures taken were: to survive, to preserve unity and to secure order and discipline. However, the most important measure was the creation of solidarity among all internees. In contrast, the camp commanders wanted to stir up arguments and unrest, so that they could justify the use of weapons.
The possibility of a typhus epidemic was the biggest danger apart from political and administrative arbitrariness. Typhus is a highly infectious disease which had caused the deaths of thousands of prisoners in Transnistria. Therefore, the first urgent task was to take preventive sanitary measures. Every morning before getting up, the internees’ shirts and undergarments were checked for lice, as they spread the disease. This was my task on the ground floor of the 2nd pavilion. I very quickly became experienced at this and soon I knew the seams where these vermin were hiding. In the beginning, the lice had to be squashed between the fingernails. Later, when we had managed to convince the camp commanders that even their staff, their guards etc. would not be spared the disease, they installed a heat-dryer where the lice could be destroyed at high temperatures. Every item of clothing was taken to this parasite-extermination chamber as soon as one single louse was discovered. This measure was successful, and, after a certain period of time, we were able to announce that the dormitory was free of parasites!
Much later, when experts from our ranks had repaired the water pipes, we had a washroom with showers where we could even do our laundry. Our illegal leadership placed a lot of importance on hygiene. Even if someone had only one spare shirt, it had to be clean at all times. This measure also forced us to preserve our self-respect, not to neglect ourselves and not to resign ourselves to our fate.
These examples demonstrate how our experienced leadership focused their attention on every single detail of our lives. This organisation, which I will simply call the “collective”, had a political task as well as an economic task. It organised additional food and much-needed clothes and medicines for the internees.
As mentioned above there were three categories of internees: the ones who had not been previously detained brought food reserves, money, and even clothes which they did not really need immediately. The food was handed over to the organisation and distributed among all the members several times per week as additional nutrition. These portions were called “Chaluk”, a term that originated from Doftana jail. Nobody was excluded from this economic community. Non-members of the collective could also participate, as long as they agreed to the conditions. Anyone who gave something to the collective was allowed to keep a portion separate from the “Chaluk” as a bonus. This also strengthened solidarity.
There was cultural work as well. In small groups, we could listen to lectures which were mostly about politics or history. The lecture venue, usually a barn, was strictly guarded by our comrades. Later, after a radio had been smuggled into the camp, we were briefed about the latest news on a daily basis. It worked like this: a single intermediary went for a walk in the courtyard with one collective member, let’s say me, and delivered e.g. five news items. I had to memorise them exactly in order to convey them one by one to several others who were also walking in the courtyard. News from the front was inconspicuously conveyed to non-members as well. This also strengthened solidarity and sometimes also boosted morale.
From day one, life in the camp was coordinated by the leadership of an illegal organisation. All those who were seen as reliable and who had proven this through their previous activities were part of this organisation. I was accepted into the organisation after a few days. The aims of all the measures taken were: to survive, to preserve unity and to secure order and discipline. However, the most important measure was the creation of solidarity among all internees. In contrast, the camp commanders wanted to stir up arguments and unrest, so that they could justify the use of weapons.
The possibility of a typhus epidemic was the biggest danger apart from political and administrative arbitrariness. Typhus is a highly infectious disease which had caused the deaths of thousands of prisoners in Transnistria. Therefore, the first urgent task was to take preventive sanitary measures. Every morning before getting up, the internees’ shirts and undergarments were checked for lice, as they spread the disease. This was my task on the ground floor of the 2nd pavilion. I very quickly became experienced at this and soon I knew the seams where these vermin were hiding. In the beginning, the lice had to be squashed between the fingernails. Later, when we had managed to convince the camp commanders that even their staff, their guards etc. would not be spared the disease, they installed a heat-dryer where the lice could be destroyed at high temperatures. Every item of clothing was taken to this parasite-extermination chamber as soon as one single louse was discovered. This measure was successful, and, after a certain period of time, we were able to announce that the dormitory was free of parasites!
Much later, when experts from our ranks had repaired the water pipes, we had a washroom with showers where we could even do our laundry. Our illegal leadership placed a lot of importance on hygiene. Even if someone had only one spare shirt, it had to be clean at all times. This measure also forced us to preserve our self-respect, not to neglect ourselves and not to resign ourselves to our fate.
These examples demonstrate how our experienced leadership focused their attention on every single detail of our lives. This organisation, which I will simply call the “collective”, had a political task as well as an economic task. It organised additional food and much-needed clothes and medicines for the internees.
As mentioned above there were three categories of internees: the ones who had not been previously detained brought food reserves, money, and even clothes which they did not really need immediately. The food was handed over to the organisation and distributed among all the members several times per week as additional nutrition. These portions were called “Chaluk”, a term that originated from Doftana jail. Nobody was excluded from this economic community. Non-members of the collective could also participate, as long as they agreed to the conditions. Anyone who gave something to the collective was allowed to keep a portion separate from the “Chaluk” as a bonus. This also strengthened solidarity.
There was cultural work as well. In small groups, we could listen to lectures which were mostly about politics or history. The lecture venue, usually a barn, was strictly guarded by our comrades. Later, after a radio had been smuggled into the camp, we were briefed about the latest news on a daily basis. It worked like this: a single intermediary went for a walk in the courtyard with one collective member, let’s say me, and delivered e.g. five news items. I had to memorise them exactly in order to convey them one by one to several others who were also walking in the courtyard. News from the front was inconspicuously conveyed to non-members as well. This also strengthened solidarity and sometimes also boosted morale.
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