Tag #130240 - Interview #101129 (Samuel Eiferman)

One day I reported to the station agent who was also the customs clerk, since the Romanian border passed through Moghilev. 4-5 German officers ranging from second lieutenant to captain had gathered there. None of them looked older than 45. They could only speak German and needed me as an interpreter. They wanted me to tell the customs clerk that they had things to sell. “Well, get them o’er here to show me what they’ve got!” the clerk ordered me. I didn’t feel too comfortable, but I thought that, given the fact that they were communications officers, not SS, I shouldn’t be afraid of them. They had leather coats, winter jackets and many other things to sell. I asked them what kind of money they wanted. “Lai, lai” they replied, as they couldn’t pronounce “lei”. [Ed. note: “Leu”, plural “lei”, was the Romanian currency of the time. It still is nowadays.] The customs clerk was loaded with money, so he bought everything. Then I asked the Germans where they were heading. “We’re communications officers and our unit is the first to withdraw. We’re going to Bacau.” The customs clerk withdrew that same night too.

That night I was in the railroad station, watching the trains filled with retreating German troops. It was 15 March 1944. I was approached by a German captain. He was dragging two large suitcases, was full of sweat and was carrying his service cap in his hand, despite the cold. He hadn’t managed to get on the train – the enlisted men held hand grenades and prevented him from boarding, saying “You’re the one who brought us here, you stick around and wait for ‘Ivan’ [the Russkis]!” The captain had me negotiate with the Romanian engine drivers. They agreed to take him in the engine.