Chapter 10

Ruth spent another year and a half at KampEast.

The conditions became worse and worse. In order to have food enough to stay alive she had to see to it that she and Elizabeth together earned not less than ten coupons a day. Even at that rate they were near starvation.

But it was not the lack of food that bothered Ruth. What weighed most heavily upon her young mind was the state of her only friend. Elizabeth would seemingly become better one day, then slip to a new low the following day. On her bad days Ruth and Elizabeth spent the time in each others arms if they were without men, together in the same bed, clutching tightly to each other with fear leaden hearts.

Their constant state of apprehension was not without reason. At first the condition of the returning soldiers had been marred and scarred to such an extent that they were frightening to both of the girls. For a long period of time Ruth did not see a soldier who was not missing an eye or a leg or an arm. Many of them existed almost in a state of insanity. The crazier ones were the most difficult to deal with. It was not uncommon for Ruth to have to rebuff an attack by some crazed old-young-man in order to save her life.

It was not until Ruth stopped to think about it one day about six months after she had returned from the SS Kamp that she realized that there was probably a reason why all her clients seemed to be nuts or on the verge of being. She knew that Hilde had something to do with it. She talked to several of the other girls and found out that they were not having the same trouble, at least not in the same number of times as she was. She was furious.

She went directly to the Fraulein Direktor and told her: "I can't stand it any longer. Everyone who comes to our cabin is a problem. I have one there already, one that you made for me, and I can't stand the constant stream of crazy people."

"Too bad, Jewish slut!" Hilde stormed at her. "You'll damn well take what's sent to you, Bitch. Ha, ha," she laughed cruelly.

"All right," Ruth said, trying to fight back her tears. "I know something about you that I think might interest the Kamp Kommandant."

Ruth collected all her inner forces in order to finish what she had started. "I know that you and Gretchen are lovers. That is forbidden," Ruth told her.

"Oh you do, huh? Well let me tell you a thing or two. The Kamp Kommandant doesn't see Jewish sluts. And he wouldn't believe you. Never! You try anything like that, Bitch, and you won't be getting any clients that will pay your food bill. Not even the nutty ones. Get out of here!" she screamed at Ruth.

Ruth left. She pondered for three days about taking revenge on Hilde and finally came up with a plan. She carefully observed the time that Hilde went into Gretchen's hut, then printed a note to the Kamp Kommandant and asked a soldier to deliver it for her. She did not sign it. Much to her joy the very next evening Hilde was caught in bed with Gretchen by the Kamp Kommandant himself. The following day Hilde was relieved of her duties and Gretchen was shipped off. Ruth suffered a tinge of regret about the unfortunate girl, but she told herself that she had to look after two people - herself and Elizabeth - and she couldn't be worried about Gretchen.

Ruth discovered that she had been right in her assumption that Hilde had been the cause of her problems. Her clients improved, somewhat. But Ruth's other problems commenced.

The Kamp had always been an orderly place considering that so many people were transferred through it day after day. There came a time, however, when this was not so. It took Ruth quite awhile to figure out the change. The troops that were wounded so badly that they could no longer fight were the only ones who were being sent back by the forward field Kommanders, but the others were deserting and passing through the Kamp. Day after day the number of police soldiers increased. They had an extra tough job. They had to sort out and apprehend the ones with illegal leave papers and more times than not force those who were still coming from the Fatherland onto trains at gun point to get them headed toward the front.