LIVIA A. MOSANU | FINE ARTIST.

Aspects of the Second World War and imprisonment -autobiography by Gheorghe Mosanu

Chapter I Introduction

Every one would have his or her own novel, should one write down a life-time’s worth of adventures, both happy and sad. As I’m not about to write one, I will only talk about a chapter of my life, a short period of time, during the Second World War and during my imprisonment years. These aspects are the ones that in fact interest my dear granddaughter Livia.

Because Nazi Germany started to occupy its neighbors in order to move closer to the USSR borders and attack, the Soviets, wanting to position themselves strategically, following an ultimatum, on June 20th 1940 have invaded Romanian territory. They advanced rapidly in Basarabia, North Bucovina and Herte, so that the Romanian population living there as well as a part of the army had not time to flee.

I found myself in this situation, staying in Basarabia with my parents, in my home town Branistea under Russian occupation between June 20th 1940 and June 22 nd1941. My decision to stay was influenced by the fact that I was an only child. It felt impossible to leave my parents behind and go by myself to the un-occupied part of Romania.

That is when my worst nightmare began, mine and everyone else’s who lived in the occupied regions.

II. The Ocupation

Two months after the occupation, the Russian administration, in order to feed its own people, started to ask the local farmers for a very large share of their crop. The amount a farmer had to give up was directly proportional with the amount of land they owned, so that the more land one had the more grains they had to give up.

Because my father was well off (30 ha of land, forest, orchards, vines, animals, bees etc) he had to contribute more than the amount he produced. For that reason he was forced to buy additional grains to meet the quota imposed by the Russian authorities. The punishment for not meeting the quota was deportation to Siberia, especially for those well off land owners.
However, to my relief, the stress and misery in which I lived did not last too long. On June 22nd 1941, at around 4 o’clock in the morning we heard a loud noise above the village. The German airplanes were flying over Basarabia. Together with the Romanian troops they started the war against the Russian army.

For Romania, the 22nd of June 1941 meant the beginning of the fight to regain its territory back from Russian occupation. Romania was in legitimate defense, justified by indisputable historic evidence. On July 25th 1941 the Romanian army took back Basarabia and together with their allies, moved all the way in to the banks of the Nistru River.

As these armies advanced into USSR territory, in Basarabia life returned to normal. I went back to school to finish my last year in high school. After graduation I went to military school for officers in reserve, and then to the front to fight against the Russian troops.

III. The War

This campaign against the Bolsheviks was quite difficult especially for me. As an infantry man I was required to fight in the first lines of the front, very close to enemy lines. Thus the unit I was in charge of was only half a mile away from the enemy’s camp. We lived with a constant fear of an imminent attack, and the troop’s moral was pretty low.

The close proximity allowed for finding efficient methods for eliminating fighters from the war by killing or hurting them. For example, the Russians had one gunman always watching a small path that we had to go through in order to get water. Anyone passing by on this path would be subject to automated gun fire that hardly missed. Our unit too had one gun, with a small telescope that followed Russian soldiers forced to walk on a path between two swamps. No doubt this weapon too was utilized with outmost efficiency.

Speaking of the troops’ morale, and of the Russian propaganda, two Romanian soldiers from my unit ran out of our trenches to the Russian side, hoping, in their naiveté, that they will be free to go home.  The next few days, the Russians broadcasted this event, and the following message: Tovaras Gheorghe Mosanu is asked to surrender with his entire unit, without hesitation; we will ensure free passage home. Of course their insistent pleas did not resonate with us.

During the time I spend in this trench, a Russian artillery bomb fell near myself and two others, and covered us entirely with dirt.  The blast affected my hearing and ever since I had partial hearing loss.

In the trenches the Romanian soldier’s hunger was satisfied with small portions of margarine, preserves, candy, 1 kg of bread per day, and cooked meals from our army kitchen (beans, potatoes, cabbage).  The food was served once a day, at dinner time, when the situation on the battle field was calmer.   When the fighting was more intense, or the food caravans were under attack, all we got was a cold, much delayed, dinner.

When time for withdrawal came, due to increased pressure from the Russian troops, I was appointed to protect the troops from a rear attack, (given my devotion in the trench).  What did this entail? One early morning, all the Romanian soldiers and all the officers, the ammunition and the machines, etc. retreated quietly without the enemy knowing, since if they were to find out, they would immediately pursue, the bombing would immediately begin, and that spelled disaster for our troops.

But in order to keep this a secret from our enemies, someone had to stay in the trenches and to pretend the army is still in place.  That was me.  By myself, with one machine gun I would fire bullets in our spot, and then move to the right and to the left, fire some more, so that the Russians would believe our army was still there.  After one hour of this kind of simulations, scared to the point I wished to die, I too fled quickly, to join the rest of my unit.  I caught up with them two hours later.

The Russians had a short lived satisfaction too.  A few hours later, when they realized the Romanians withdrew from their position, they started to chase us and called the other Russian units nearby to attack from both sides and even from the front, in order to surround us. And so, by dusk approximately 3,000 Romanians soldiers were entrapped by the enemy, and could not move forward.  In this situation, we started a terrible fight, sometimes by bayonets, which lasted till night without any clear winner.  When the fight stopped, tiered, hungry, thirsty, with lots of wounded among us, we fell asleep right where we were.  In the middle of the night two Romanian helicopters landed in our circle, brought us food, and indicated the right direction to attack the following morning; another Romanian unit was ready to fight from behind the Russian lines in the same direction as us, so that together we could break free from the enemy.  That’s how we proceeded and the situation was resolved.

But wait to hear the funny part.  When the helicopters took off some Romanian soldiers woke up and not knowing that they were our helicopters, started screaming in fright that the Russians are coming.  Two minutes later all the soldiers in our circle, approximately 3,000 of them, put down their guns and luggage, and, close together raised their hands to surrender, screaming out loud: “Russians, don’t shoot, we surrender”.

This was not the only funny part.  Once we broke though the ring and started to move forward in the direction we were told, we came across a village where, to our surprise, the Russians left behind about 2,000 horses.  The horses were so hungry that they ate parts of the stables; so the question came up what to do with all these ‘prisoners’? In the end, we gave two horses per family to the people that lived there, and in the neighboring village.

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V. The day before captivity

The euphoria caused by the victory at the battle of Stalingrad, Stalin’s influence, and the party’s propaganda, drove the Russian soldiers to win battle after battle, and in the end what was expected happened. I was taken prisoner. One evening approximately 1800 Romanian and German soldiers were surrounded by the Russians, trapped in a small village, waiting for the Russian soldiers to decide our faith.

The village was evacuated, with the exception of a few old folks.  The house where I was staying with eight other Romanians was deserted. We knew this was the last evening before captivity. So let’s live well tonight we thought!  The owner of the house, a hard working man, left behind almost everything he had.  All we had to do was prep. So we got started. In the chicken coop we found two hens, which we cut and made into a broth and cooked for the main course. In the cellar we found sheep cheese and a small barrel of wine. In the barn we found some corn flour, and that’s all we needed. We ate and drank and slept; got ready for our morning meeting with the imprisoning army.

Early in the morning the Russians entered the village and demanded on the megaphone to come out of the houses, unarmed, so they can take us prisoners. When I went out, a Russian asked: Officer? NO! I answered, because the officers were often killed for crimes committed on soviet territory.  Got watch? If you got one and you hide it, I will shoot you. I took off my watch and handed to him. And then went where all the prisoners were gathered.

At this point neither the dignity of the Romanian or German soldier nor the international military laws were respected.  Because the Russians were ignoring these laws some prisoners started whispering and reproaching; in response a Russian soldier turned and asked one of the prisoners: ‘You Fritz?’’Yes’. The Russian took out his pistol and put a bullet straight into the guy’s forehead.  Even now I can see the arch of blood that flew from his forehead, as he fell dead among us.  After a few similar situations, order was instated.

Then we were arranged in columns and under Russian supervision started to move by foot or by train depending on what method of transportation was available in the direction we were going.  No one knew where we were going, why, for how long, and what would happen to us, if we would make it alive or our faith would be like that of 2000 Polish officers killed by the Russians at Katyn.

These exhausting marches, without food nor water, the fatigue and the filth in which we lived, were noticed by the habitants of the villages that we passed by.  The civilians were prohibited from approaching the prisoners, but from a distance they threw bread and other food our way, food that we could not pick up because the Russians would fire their arms as soon as one of us stepped out of the column.  In these conditions illnesses started to appear among the prisoners –especially lice and dysentery.

During our 32 day travel, by freight train most of it, in bunk beds so that they could fit as many people as possible in each car, 120 soldiers per car traveled in unimaginable conditions.  They fed us salty fish but we had no water.  This was their way to exterminate us.

We interrupted this journey sometimes, housed in a school or another building, so they can give us a cooked meal, water, and the opportunity to clean ourselves, as it is only normal.  A propos of sickness, during such stops, in the morning as we woke up we would see a horse drawn cart in which the dead prisoners were piled on like potato bags, dead of dysentery, especially Germans, and taken to a mass grave. Some would move a hand, a leg, or open their eyes, but it was considered that they would not make it to the next day, so in order to make room they were buried alive.

Given the despair in which we lived, waiting to die, some Germans that were ill and completely demoralized threw themselves in the nearby water well, so we could not drink the water either. During this period of time I too had dysentery, but with an exemplary will I did not drink any water for a few days, except for the morning tea.  This way I saved my life.

To be continued...

Aspecte din timpul celui de-al doilea Razboi Mondial si prizonierat, de Gheorghe Mosanu /traducere/ arta Livia Mosanu.

Capitolul I. Introducere

Viata omului este plina de peripetii, unele vesele altele triste incat daca ar fi sa le scrii pe toate fiecare om ar avea romanul lui. De aceea, ma voi lmita numai la o perioada scurta din viata mea si anume la unele aspecte din timpul razboiului si din viata de prizonier care dealtfel sunt si cele care prezinta un interest pentru scumpa mea nepotica Livia.

Deoarece Germania nazista in anul 1939 a inceput sa subjuge tarile vecine cu scopul de a se apropia de granita URSS pentru o confruntrare militara, armata sovietica, pentru a-si asigura o zona strategica, in baza unui ultimatum, la 20 iunie 1940 a intrat pe teritoriul Romaniei, si intr-un ritm rapid a ocupat Basarabia, Bucovina de Nord si tinutul Hertei, astfel ca populatia civila si chiar o parte a armatei nu au mai avut timp sa se evacueze.

In aceasta situtatie am fost si eu care intre 20 iunie 1940 si 22 iunie 1941, am ramas in Basarabia, in satul meu natal Branistea, impreuna cu parintii mei, sub ocupatia ruseasca, influentat si de faptul ca eram unicul copil la parinti si mi-a fost imposibil sa ma hotarasc sa-i las singuri iar eu sa ma refugiez in Romania.

Atunci a inceput calvarul vietii mele precum si a tuturor romanilor din teritoriile ocupate de inamic.

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II. Ocuparea

La doua luni dupa ocupatie administratia Sovietica pentru a-si putea hrani propria populatie a fixat niste norme obligatorii foarte mari de predare a cerealelor catre statul Sovietic. Aceste norme erau progressive in sensul ca erau cu atat mai mari pe fiecare hectar, cu cat mai multe hectare de pamant aveai in proprietate.
Cum tatal meu era printre oamenii bogati din comuna (30 ha pamant, padure, livezi, vie, animale, pasari, stupi de albine etc.) trebuia sa predea o cantitate de cereale mai mare decat productia realizata. In acest caz era nevoit sa mai cumpere cereale pentru a preda intreaga cantitate impusa pentru ca in caz contrar te astepta riscul de a fi deportat in Siberia, mai ales pentru familiile cu pamant mult.

Norocul nostru a fost ca din lipsa de cadre de specialitate am fost numit de administratia ruseasca in functia de director al scolii din comuna, avand atunci sapte clase normale absolvite. Astfel, cu toti banii pe care ii primeam ca salariu cumparam cereale si predam la stat.

Dar spre bucuria mea stresurile si mizeria in care traiam nu au durat mult caci la 22 iunie 1941, pe la ora 4 dimineata (satul fiind chiar pe malul stang al Prutului) auzim in aer un zgomot asurzitor. Erau avioanele germane care au survolat teritoriul Basarabiei si impreuna cu armata romana au inceput razboiul cotra rusilor.

Pentru Romania ziua de 22 iunie 1941 a insemnat inceputul recuperarii teritoriilor rapite. Ea se afla, ca atare, in legitima aparare, justificata de argument istorice indiscutablie. La 25 Iulie 1941 trupele romane dezrobisera teritoriile ocupate si au inaintat alaturi de fortele germane dincolo de Nistru.

Frontul inainta pe teritoriul URSS iar in Basarabia viata revenea la normal. Eu am plecat din nou la scoala pentru a termina ultimul an. Dupa absolvire am mers la scoala militara de ofiteri rezerva si apoi pe front contra rusilor.

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III. Razboiul

Campania aceasta impotriva bolsevismului a fost destul de anevoioasa mai ales ca in specialitatea de infanterist pe care o aveam eram obligat sa activez in prima linie deci cea mai apropiata de armatele inamice. Astfel unitatea pe care o conduceam se afla la numai 80 metri distanta de cele inamice asa ca traiam in continua emotie de o eventual descindere a rusilor in transeele noastre, mai ales ca moralul trupelor nu era prea ridicat.

Distanta aceasta mica permitea gasirea unor metode cat mai eficiente pentru scoaterea din lupta a inamicului prin omarare sau ranire. Astfel rusii aveau un puscas care nu facea altceva decat statea cu arma indreptata spre o poteca pe unde in mod obligatoriu trebuia sa trecem spre un izvor de unde luam apa. Oricine trecea pe aceasta poteca era suspus unui tir de arma atutomata greu de scapat teafar.

Aveam si noi o arma cu luneta care apropie imaginea cu ajutorul careia se urmareau ostasii rusi obligati sa treaca pe o cararuie intre doua mlastini. Cu siguranta ca si aceasa arma a fost efficient utilizata.

Amintind despre moralul trupelor, de propaganda ruseasca si de apropierea pozitiilor, doi ostasi romani din unitatea pe care o conduceam, au reusit sa fuga din transeele in care eram si sa se predea rusilor in naivitatea lor crezand ca vor fi elibrati sa plece la casele lor. A doua zi si urmatoarele, rusii anuntau evenimentul si faceau rumatorul apel: "Tovarasul sublocotenent Gheorghe Mosanu este rugat sa se preadea cu toata unitatea fara teama, ca noi le asiguram libertatea si le vom inlesni transportul spre casele lor". Bineinteles ca insistentele lor nu au avut nici un ecou asupra noastra.

Tot in timpul cat am stat in aceasta pozitie in apropierea mea si a doi ostasi a cazut o bomba ruseasca de artilerie care prin explozie ne-a acoperit cu pamant iar suflul exploziei mi-a cam afectat auzul care nu mi-a mai revenit.

Pe front foamea soldatului roman era satisfacuta cu cantitati mici de margarina, conserve, bomboane, 1 kg de paine pe zi si mincare gatita in bucataria de campanie (fasole, cartofi, varza). Masa se aducea o singura data pe zi de obicei seara, cand situatia pe front era mai calma. De multe ori se aduce numai mincare rece si cu intirziere atunci cand aveau loc lupte crancene sau convoaiele de hrana erau bombardate de artileria inamica.

Datorita devotamentului de care am dat dovada pe portiunea de front pe care o conduceam, conducerea regimentului militar corespunzator m-a numit ca sa fac ariergarda, adica sa asigur retragerea trupelor de pe pozitia de rezistenta, atunci cand unitatile au fost nevoite sa se retraga datorita presiunilor exercitate de rusi. Ce inseamna asta? Intr-o dimineata in zori, toti ostasii in frunte cu ofiterii de conducere a unitatii cu armamentul si masinile, instalatiile etc, s-au retras de pe pozitii in liniste fara sa simta inamicii pentru ca daca sesizau ceva, incepeau imediat urmarirea, bombardarea cu artilerie si in concluzie era dezastru mare.

Dar pentru a nu sesiza rusii ca transeul nostru a fost parasit, trebuia sa stea cineva care sa simuleze ca armata este pe pozitia cunoscuta de rusi. Acela am fost eu. Singur fiind, cu un pistol automat trageam cateva focuri dintr-un loc, ma deplasam apoi la dreapta si la stinga, astfel ca rusii sa stie ca armata romana este pe pozitie. Dupa vre-o ora de astfel de simulari, emotionat de iti doreai moartea, m-am retras si eu de pe transeu in graba dupa unitatea pe care am ajuns-o dupa doua ore.

Rusii totusi au avut o satisfactie de scurta durata Peste cateva ore cand au constatat ca romanii s-au retras de pe pozitiile ocupate, au inceput urmarirea si in acelasi timp au anuntat unitatiile rusesti din vecinatatea lor sa ne atace pe flancuri si chiar din fata pentru a ne incercui. Astfel spre seara aceleasi zile cca 3,000 de ostasi romani erau incercuiti de inamic si nu mai puteau inainta. In aceste conditii a inceput o lupta crancena, uneori chiar la baioneta, care a durat pina seara cand s-a intunecat fara sa se schimbe situatia. Dupa incetarea luptei, obositi, flaminzi, insetati, cu multi raniti, am adormit pe locul unde ne aflam. In miez de noapte, doua elicoptere romanesti au aterizat in cercul unde ne aflam, ne-au adus alimente, si ne-au indicat directia in care sa atacam in zorii zilei, pentru ca o alta unitate militara romaneasca va lupta din spatele rusilor in aceeasi directie cu cei din interior pentru a sparge incercuirea si a reusi sa iesim de acolo. Asa am facut si situatia s-a rezolvat.

Dar sa vezi comicul acestei peripetii. Cand au decolat elicopterele in amplasamentul nostru o parte din ostasi s-au trezit si nestiind ca elicopterele sunt romanesti, au inceput sa strige speriat ca vin rusii. Astfel in doua minute toti ostasii care erau in cerc, cca 3,000, au lasa si arme si bagaj si grupati unul linga altul, cu miinile ridicate, au inceput sa stringe plingaret: ruschie predair, ruschie predai. Rusilor nu ne impuscati ca ne predam.

Dar situatia aceasa comica nu a fost singura. Dupa iesirea din incercurie si inaintarea in directia stabilita, am ajuns intr-un sat unde spre surprinderea noastra am constatat ca bolsevicii la retragere au lasat in acea localitate cca 2,000 cai care erau atit de infometati incat rosesera si scandurile de la grajduri: intrebarea era acum ce facem cau acesti prizonieri? Pina la urma acestia au fost repartizati cate doi, locuitorilor satului respectiv si ai altor sate invecinate.

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IV. Ajun de prizonierat

Euforia victoriei de la Stalingrad, indrumarile date de Stalin si propaganda aparatului de partid au fost valorificate la maximum de rusi castigand luptele rand pe rand, si pina la urma s-a intimplat ceea ce era de asteptat. Am cazut prizonier. Pe inserate cca 1800 de ostasi romani si germani ne aflam intr-o localitate pe care au incercuit-o rusii si asteptam ca a doua zi dimineata sa vina soldatii rusi sa ne adune pe toti si sa decida soarta noastra.

Locuitorii localitatii respective erau evacuati, in sat fiind numai cativa batrani. La casa unde eram eu cu alti 8 romani nu era nimeni. Noi stiam ca din aceasta zi santem prizonieri . Dar daca asa stau lucrurile, hai sa traim bine macar o noapte. Gazda fiind om gospodar la plecare a lasat acasa aproape tot ce avea de mincare. Trebuia numai sa le pregatesti. Si am inceput. In cotet am prins doua gaini pe care le-am taiat si am facut ciorba si mincare. In beci am gasit branza de oi si un butoias de vin, iar in hambar o traista cu malai. Altceva nu trebuia. Ne-am ospatat bine si cu un pahar de vin, dupa care am dormit cateva ore ca a doua zi aveam intilnire cu rusii.

Dis de dimineata, veneau muscalii si anuntau la porta voce, sa iesim fara arme, ca sa ne ia in primire. Cand m-am prezentat la rus, m-a intrebat: Ofiter? Nu! Pentru ca pe unii ofiteri ii impuscau daca li se parea ca au facut crime pe teritoriul sovietic. Ceas este? Daca este da-mi-l, ca daca te caut si-l gasesc te impusc… Am scos ceasul si I l-am dat. Dupa asta ne-a adunat la un loc dinainte stabilit.

Demnitatea ostasului german si roman precum si prevederile legilor militare international nu a fost respectate in aceste conditii de captivitate.  Intrucat soldatii rusi nu tineau seama de ele, proaspetii prizonierii au inceput murmure si unele reprosuri la care soldatul rus a intrebat pe unul: ‘Tu Fritz’? ‘Yes’ a zis germanul. Atunci rusul a scos pistolul si a tras un glonte drept in fruntea germanului.  Parca vad si acum un arc pe care-l facea sangele ce curgea din frunte iar el s-a prabusit mort intre noi.  Si asa, dupa alte cateva situatii similare s-a instalat ordinea.

Apoi s-a facut incolonare si sub excorta ruseasca a inceput deplasarea pedestra sau cu trenul dupa ce mijloace de transport existau in directia deplasarii noastre.  Nimeni nu stia unde mergem, pentru ce, pe cat timp, ce se va intimpla cu noi, daca vom scapa cu viata, sau soarta noastra va fi ca a celor 2000 ofiteri polonezi omorati de rusi in padurea Catin. 
Marsurile acelea istovitoare, fara apa si mincare, oboseala si murdaria in care traiam au influentat chiar si populatia civila a satelor prin care treceam.  Acestia nu aveau voie sa se apropie de coloana captivilor, dar de la distanta aruncau catre noi cate o bucata de paine sau alte alimente, pe care noi nu le puteam lua pentru ca rusii trageau focuri de arma imediat ce iesai din coloana.  In aceste conditii au incept imbolnavirile in randul prizonierilor – in special dizenteria si paduchii.

Timp de 32 zile de transport, in majoritatea distantei cu trenul de marfa, cu paturi de scandura supraetajate ca sa incapa cat mai multi (intr-un vagon calatoreau 120 ostasi) am avut conditii neimaginabile.  In plus ca hrana ne dadeau paste sarata dar apa nu aveam.  Acesta era un regim de exterminare. 

In unele zile am interrupt calatoria fiind cazati intr-o scoala sau o alta cladire amenajata pentru a ni se da o hrana gatita, apa, curatenie, necesitati firesti etc.  A propos de imbolnaviri, cand ne sculam dimineata in aceste cantonamente, vedeam prin curte o caruta cu cai in care se puneau unul peste altul ca niste saci plini, captivii morti de dizenterie in special nempti pentru ai duce la groapa comuna.  Unii din ei mai clipeau din ochi sau miscau mana, capul, piciorul, dar se considera ca nu vor mai trai pina a doua zi asa ca pentru decongestionare ii ingropau ca morti. 
In disperarea in care traiam asteptand moartea, unii bolnavi in special nemti complet demoralizati s-au aruncat in fantana din apropiere asa ca nici apa nu mai puteai bea.  In acesta perioada am avut si eu dizenterie, dar cu o vointa exemplara nu am baut apa cateva zile in afara de ceaiul pe care il primeam dimineata.  In felul acesta mi-am salvat viata.

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