Today we all (2000) went on strike. Conditions here have gone from bad to worse. Last night the stools in the abort overflowed onto the floor--the urinals overflowed too, and the mess is about 2 inches deep on the inside of the building, and consequently has run out the doors and covered a considerable area of the grounds. Most of us are still sick with diarrhea, and now there's nothing to do but act like animals.

The Goons ordered us to fall in for Appel this morning, and we refused. As a result they brought in troops armed with machine and gas guns--as well as several of their police dogs. They again ordered us to fall out and again we refused to do so. The Goon Hauptman was in a rage--he wanted to order his men to fire on us, but didn't dare to--we were officers, and more than that, the war wasn't too far from its conclusion. After about three hours of parleying, they finally agreed to clean up our barracks and the Abort. With these promises we formed and submitted to an Appel.

We have no coal or wood, either for heating or for cooking food. We receive one cup of hot water a day per man--all other water is cold--and this is the month of February. All our food must be eaten cold, and as a result of these conditions, most of us still have diarrhea, and many cases of flu have been noted. I only hope and pray that we don't catch typhus. The Goons will furnish us no medical supplies.

Most of us are lousy with fleas, lice, and bed bugs. The camp at Sagan was a paradise compared to this place.

Stalag VIIa, Thursday, March, 8, 1945

One year ago today I got the chop. Here in Moosburg we Kriegies are having a very bad time of it. The camp has run completely out of Red Cross parcels, and consequently we're living on Goon rations alone, which for today (an average day), consisted of:

1 cup of hot water in the morning.
1 cup of soup at noon( a la Skid Road)
4 medium sized potatoes which had been frozen & then boiled
1/7 of a loaf of bread per man (Small loaves of black bread)
2 tablespoons of Limburger cheese
3/4 of a teaspoon of sugar per man

I know now why dogs scratch themselves so persistantly when they have fleas. It's almost humorous to see how many of us stay up as late as possible so as not to go to bed any earlier than necessary. I dread going to bed each night--the fleas and lice keep me in a fever of torment for hours. If they would only bite me and then leave I would never begrudge them the blood, but their incessant crawling is almost maddening. There's absolutely no way of ridding ourselves of them. We air our clothes and blankets, wash our bodies as well as possible in cold water--and still they keep up their incessant crawling. Believe me, I'll always sympathize with any dog I ever see in the future which is furiously scratching itself.