While we were in Bochum we found out we were now part of Police Regiment 13 as the I battalion. Our sister battalion was attached as the II battalion of the regiment. The III hadn’t been announced, and it wasn’t until later that we found out that it was going to be a Ukrainian battalion with German officers and NCOs. Manpower was starting to get scarce apparently.
Of course we had a ceremony to mark the occasion though it was briefer than the one that had celebrated our departure. We still had a big wig show up. This time it was Daleuge, the General in charge of the Police. He was big enough to send the brass into a tizzy but being a Lance Corporal this time around was enough to get me out of most of the really crappy work details. There was no escaping the parade and inspection and it was hot that day. Hot enough that we had one of the new guys pass out. He must have forgotten the secret for standing for hours in one these ceremonies, never lock your knees.
By the end of the third month I was ready to go back to Poland. I was probably the only ‘old hand’ that was. The new guys were all excited about it. They reminded me of us not all that long ago. Even in 1942 everyone thought the war would be over soon and we weren’t going to be on the losing side. The people in Bochum certainly believed it. Then again it was not a good idea to voice any other opinion. No one would have to my face. I was in the police after all.
Before we had left for our second deployment we took the squad shopping. This time we made sure everyone bought extra socks, gloves, and long underwear; even though we had to use our own funds. I found a tailor and had a bunch of Russian socks made for me. No more expecting the army to come up with what we needed. Sarge also came around collecting money for a liquor fund. We were going to ship our own supply of liquor with us. I didn’t drink but I knew I could always trade my share for something else. My weakness was chocolate and I made sure to bring my own personal supply of good German chocolate.
We left from the same station. No bands or family this time and all our comrades were already in the east. The train station had taken minor bomb damage, which I found disturbing. I noticed no one paid attention to it. It was obvious to me that they weren’t seeing it on purpose. Perhaps, because to see it would be to acknowledge it, and by acknowledging it they would be admitting that perhaps the war might not going as well as they were being told.
We first went to Warsaw where we stayed briefly. We went by the old house but it was now occupied by three Wehrmacht officers. They weren’t in but our old housekeeper was. She was delighted to see us and even invited us in for few moments. She wanted to pump us for information about the war. Her son was with General Paulus and the 6th Army somewhere near Stalingrad. We didn’t know anything about that theater other than what everyone heard in the news which disappointed her.
I was amazed how often people thought we might know their loved ones. Time after time in Bochum a civilian would casually ask me if I knew their son, father, uncle, or husband. They just didn’t grasp how big Russia was. Moscow in their minds was just a day’s ride from Leningrad. It was like they thought we all lined up on the front within yelling distant of each other. As if we were just one big happy army standing around waving to each other and killing Russians.
While we were in Warsaw we did we did have a visit from Reichsfuhrer of the SS and Police, Heinrich Himmler. This was a major big deal. He was there because he wanted to congratulate us on how well we had performed our duties and to talk about the difficult times still ahead of us. He also went on at great length about us being part of the SS, as we were now SS Police Regiment 13. It was about the fourth time someone had told us that we now belonged to a new regiment. This was different though because we were now SS. Except we weren’t. No runes or uniform changes for us. Supposedly we were going to get new identification papers but I wasn’t holding my breath. The only good thing that I saw was our supply situation improved dramatically.
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