Nathan knew from listening to the Voice of America on the radio and witnessing all the Allied bombings in the area that the war was coming to an end. In early April, they sounded the “5-minute alarm” that indicated to the Nazi guards that the Allied forces were in the area. The scared guards ran away, leaving the camp prisoners free to roam around the camp. The starved inmates rushed to the kitchen for food. Nathan consumed ten bowls of potato soup, which extended his stomach so much it was hard to breath. He stretched out on the floor afraid to move or he might die. Sadly, many inmates did eat themselves to death.
Two days later on April 6, 1945, many of the guards returned to the camp and lined up all the inmates (approximately 8,000) for a forced evacuation march to Brandenburg (west of Berlin). While on the forced march there were rumors that the inmates were being taken to be executed. Knowing that the war was coming to an end, Nathan and two friends decided to escape. They jumped into a ditch along the side of the road, which was filled with rain water. They then submerged themselves in the water and hid until the German guards had passed; then they ran into the forest. For the first time in four years, Nathan felt freedom from the Nazis; however, not completely free since he was still in Germany and didn’t know who might still harm him.
The three traveled away from the forced march and wandered in the woods for a month, hiding by day and scavenging for food at night, which normally consisted of rotten potatoes they found on the ground. With only the clothes on their backs, they would use newspaper they found in the trash for insulation, even though the ink would run when it got wet. There were times when it would rain and they would wake-up submerged in water. Finally, they decided they couldn’t go on living like this, so they went to a village where they could beg for food. Nathan’s companions feared they would be killed in the village, but Nathan said, “What difference does it make, since we will die if we continue living this way.” So they ended up going to the German village, Pritzen. Weighing only 87 pounds, Nathan was near death. They asked a woman sitting by her window if they could stay in her stable in return for doing work for her. She agreed, but wanted to see their documents – of course they didn’t have any documents. She told them they should go to the townhall with the others like them, which is also where there were Nazis avoiding capture by dressing in civilian clothes like refugees.
They gathered some hay for bedding and found a spot at the townhall away from the Nazis. While they were out getting water, an old woman asked if they were Jewish. They were scared to reply, but the woman said don’t be afraid and gave them some bread, which they divided up 3-ways back at the townhall. Since they were being viewed suspiciously, they took turns staying awake at night to make sure they wouldn’t be killed in their sleep. While Nathan was up on guard duty, a woman came up to him and whispered that the Russians had just arrived in town, so they would be free. Nathan wanted to go out to greet the Russians, but the women told Nathan not to since they were shooting anyone out on the street. Nathan didn’t care and ran out anyway.
Nathan jumped on the first tank that went by and grabbed the Russian soldier and was crying and laughing at the same time. The Russian solider asked Nathan if he knew any rich Germans in town. Nathan found out where the richest man in the town lived and the Russian took Nathan there on his tank. The man’s estate had a white flag outside, but no one answered the door bell. The Russian ran through the wood fence in his tank and started shouting at the German man he saw in the second floor window. The old German man finally came out and asked, “What’s the matter?” Nathan replied that he hadn’t had a bath in 4-years. The Russian soldier told the German man to make a bath for Nathan and wash him, and then give him his finest clothes to wear. Finally, the Russian said he wanted the best liquor in the house for himself. It was the first time Nathan saw hot water and soap and a clean white towel in four years.
The old German man followed the Russian soldier’s order and started washing Nathan with a sponge, but Nathan, who was very ticklish, started laughing and asked him to stop. The German man was afraid that if he stopped washing Nathan, the Russian would kill him. Nathan told the German to lock the door and he would wash himself, but tell the Russian that he was washed by the German. The German man, who was tall and husky, then gave Nathan his clothes to wear, but they were much too big for Nathan, who was short and skinny. The drunk Russian saw how silly Nathan looked and almost laughed himself to death!
