This morning we marched about 20 kilometers to the barns where we're staying in this small village. During the past two days most of the snow melted, and consequently the roads were very wet and slushy. Once again we had to pack all our things on our backs because the sled wouldn't work in the slush. 150 of us are staying in a small barn for the night.

On The Train, Sunday through Wednesday, Feb. 4-7, 1945

On Sunday we marched 7 km into Spremberg, ate some barley soup, at a Wehrmacht training Compound, and were marched through the town to the railroad station where we were herded into French 40 Hommes & 8 Chevaux cars. This war, however, They're putting 50 of us Kriegies into one boxcar with two guards.

The ensuing three days were as close to hell as I have yet been. It rained for two days--the roof leaked--most of the fellows were sick with dysentery, chill blaines, or had bad colds. During the three day trip we received only 7/10 of a loaf of bread per man, and water was officially passed out only twice. At each stop, the ones that still had cigarettes left, traded them for bread and water. No one slept, except for those who passed out from pure exhaustion because there wasn't room for more than half of us, had we all tried to lay down.

We have lost all semblence to civilized human beings. We're filthy, dirty, unshaven, and many have picked up lice and fleas. All the clothes we have are filthy dirty. This evening (Wednesday) we arrived at the Nom-com camp of Stalag VII at Moosburg, in Bavaria, which is 30 kilometers North of Munich. 600 of us are staying in a small stable like building--it's almost as bad as the train.

Stalag VIIa, Moosburg, Germany, Thursday & Friday, 8 & 9, 1945

Boy what a hole this place is. By common agreement we're all calling this cozy nook the 'Snake Pit'. The Goons gave us soup (Fri.) that I wouldn't feed to my dog. 75% of us have diarrhea, stomach cramps, and fits of vomiting. Tonight about 20 of us weren't able to make it to the latrine in time (myself included) when the 'urge' caught us unawares. Some of the lads couldn't get outside in time, and vomited all over the fellows sleeping on the ground. Doc Hall says that the excessive amounts of margarine we've been eating has coated the walls of our intestines, rendering them practically useless.

General Vanaman and his 'staff' left us in Spremberg at the order of the OKW. Wednesday night when we arrived here all the officers from Captain and up were taken away. Now there are only the 1st and 2nd Lieutenants left with a handful of enlisted men. There is no semblence of order left--chaos alone reigns supreme. Here at Moosburg I have seen, for the first time, American and British Non-coms doing labor--Germany's slave workers.

Stalag VIIa, Sunday, Feb. 11, 1945

Today we moved from the 'Snake Pit' to our permanent barracks in the camp proper. Prior to being taken to our barracks we spent an hour in the Goon de-louser. All our clothes, blankets, etc. were deloused for one hour in a cyanide gas chamber. In the interim we Kreigies had our first showers in 5 weeks. Boy, what an experience. It rained all the time we were waiting our turn in the de-louser, and consequently we got out of wet clothes, showered, then got back into the same wet, filthy clothes.

Our barracks (ha-ha) are absolutely the filthiest hovels I've ever entered in my life. There are 15 tiers of beds--with 12 men sleeping in one tier. We have no cooking facilities at all--and no hot water. The abort is positively the bottom, and is indescribably filthy. The protective power men came through while we were still in the 'Snake Pit' and said that never in their experience had they seen men--officers at that--subjected to such humiliating, filthy, sordid conditions. It was at their insistence that we were moved today instead of next week. Little did they realize that we were being moved from Purgatory to Hell.