that there was a curfew on, and if I got into trouble outside it would be disaster for the whole camp. So at all costs I must avoid trouble.
The next day Traudl appeared on her daily walk with the baby and I gave her a nod of confirmation that our tryst was on the agenda. She smiled her acknowledgement. Now my nerves began to jangle.
What had I committed myself to, and would I be brave enough to see it through? The enormity of the whole idea suddenly came into focus. I was going to risk my life for the possible reward of a kiss
and a cuddle – if I managed to make the rendezvous and if Traudl turned up. My head was telling me I had lost my marbles and should stay in bed after lights out, but my heart was shouting
that I should give it a try. In this type of contest, I don’t know of anyone who has listened to their head rather than their heart.
14
The weather could not have been better for my first attempt at breaking out of camp. It had been a beautiful sunny day with clear skies and good visibility. I had also checked
that there would be no moonlight that night.
My nerves were jangling like a fire alarm bell and the strain on my innards was horrendous. I knew that I couldn’t show the state I was in or Jimmy would never have agreed to my going out.
So there I was, looking cool, calm and collected until it was time to go. After work we all made our way back to camp for a wash and change of clothes. Believe it or not, hygiene standards were
extremely high; we had all learned that hygiene was easier than delousing. We all followed our normal routine. The evening meal was collected from the hotel, pleasurably eaten; then followed the
customary dish-washing and cleaning of the billet. After dinner everyone settled down to relating the adventures of the day or being bored to death listening to other people’s stories, which
of course we had heard time and time again.
At last the guard came to make the evening roll-call, which he did with his usual care and efficiency. Then we were safely locked in for the night, or so they thought. Timing was now critical.
If the guard followed his normal routine, I had only ten minutes to clear the camp. Jimmy and Joe opened the trap-door in the kitchen while I was dressing, and with their best wishes ringing in my
ears I went down the hole and through to the outside toilet before I could even think of changing my mind. I replaced the toilet floor carefully, quickly checked the coast was clear and, without
further ado, ran across the compound to the barbed-wire fence. In a couple of minutes I got through Joe’s cleverly prepared hook-on gate at the bottom of the fence, and after carefully
replacing it I reached the safety of the trees.
At this point I should have been able to relax and prepare myself for the next part of the outing. Instead I had to move like lightning and drop my trousers as all the years of constipation that
I had suffered came to an abrupt end. I had literally scared the shit out of myself.
By the time I regained my composure, the problem of adjusting my eyes to the darkness was completely overcome. The visibility made me move with less caution than I should have to the safety of
the woods on the other side of the road and onto the path leading to the village. It suddenly dawned on me that I might not be able to negotiate the few hundred yards to the spot where I hoped
Traudl would be waiting for me. The path was almost invisible and my feet were warning me when I strayed onto rougher ground or it became too grassy. I walked with my arms outstretched and hands
clasped together so that twigs and branches couldn’t blind me if I got too near the trees. My ears were working overtime but fortunately on this first trip there was no wind to create any
strange noises to jangle my already overstretched nerves.
Hidden animal instincts must have taken over and soon I was moving more freely and, more importantly, faster. In the excitement of solving the
The next day Traudl appeared on her daily walk with the baby and I gave her a nod of confirmation that our tryst was on the agenda. She smiled her acknowledgement. Now my nerves began to jangle.
What had I committed myself to, and would I be brave enough to see it through? The enormity of the whole idea suddenly came into focus. I was going to risk my life for the possible reward of a kiss
and a cuddle – if I managed to make the rendezvous and if Traudl turned up. My head was telling me I had lost my marbles and should stay in bed after lights out, but my heart was shouting
that I should give it a try. In this type of contest, I don’t know of anyone who has listened to their head rather than their heart.
14
The weather could not have been better for my first attempt at breaking out of camp. It had been a beautiful sunny day with clear skies and good visibility. I had also checked
that there would be no moonlight that night.
My nerves were jangling like a fire alarm bell and the strain on my innards was horrendous. I knew that I couldn’t show the state I was in or Jimmy would never have agreed to my going out.
So there I was, looking cool, calm and collected until it was time to go. After work we all made our way back to camp for a wash and change of clothes. Believe it or not, hygiene standards were
extremely high; we had all learned that hygiene was easier than delousing. We all followed our normal routine. The evening meal was collected from the hotel, pleasurably eaten; then followed the
customary dish-washing and cleaning of the billet. After dinner everyone settled down to relating the adventures of the day or being bored to death listening to other people’s stories, which
of course we had heard time and time again.
At last the guard came to make the evening roll-call, which he did with his usual care and efficiency. Then we were safely locked in for the night, or so they thought. Timing was now critical.
If the guard followed his normal routine, I had only ten minutes to clear the camp. Jimmy and Joe opened the trap-door in the kitchen while I was dressing, and with their best wishes ringing in my
ears I went down the hole and through to the outside toilet before I could even think of changing my mind. I replaced the toilet floor carefully, quickly checked the coast was clear and, without
further ado, ran across the compound to the barbed-wire fence. In a couple of minutes I got through Joe’s cleverly prepared hook-on gate at the bottom of the fence, and after carefully
replacing it I reached the safety of the trees.
At this point I should have been able to relax and prepare myself for the next part of the outing. Instead I had to move like lightning and drop my trousers as all the years of constipation that
I had suffered came to an abrupt end. I had literally scared the shit out of myself.
By the time I regained my composure, the problem of adjusting my eyes to the darkness was completely overcome. The visibility made me move with less caution than I should have to the safety of
the woods on the other side of the road and onto the path leading to the village. It suddenly dawned on me that I might not be able to negotiate the few hundred yards to the spot where I hoped
Traudl would be waiting for me. The path was almost invisible and my feet were warning me when I strayed onto rougher ground or it became too grassy. I walked with my arms outstretched and hands
clasped together so that twigs and branches couldn’t blind me if I got too near the trees. My ears were working overtime but fortunately on this first trip there was no wind to create any
strange noises to jangle my already overstretched nerves.
Hidden animal instincts must have taken over and soon I was moving more freely and, more importantly, faster. In the excitement of solving the
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