尼尔读信小库尔特给父亲的信(2)
Under the Geneva Convention, Officers and Non-commissioned Officers are not obliged to work when taken prisoner. I am, as you know, a Private. One-hundred-and-fifty such minor beings were shipped to a Dresden work camp on January 10th. I was their leader by virtue of the little German I spoke. It was our misfortune to have sadistic and fanatical guards. We were refused medical attention and clothing: We were given long hours at extremely hard labor. Our food ration was two-hundred-and-fifty grams of black bread and one pint of unseasoned potato soup each day. After desperately trying to improve our situation for two months and having been met with bland smiles I told the guards just what I was going to do to them when the Russians came. They beat me up a little. I was fired as group leader. Beatings were very small time: — one boy starved to death and the SS Troops shot two for stealing food.
根据《日内瓦公约》，军官和士官在被俘时没有义务进行劳作。你知道的，我是个列兵。150个像我这样的小角色在1月10日被送往德累斯顿的一处劳改营。因为我会说一点德语成为他们的头。我们的不幸来自于有虐待情结并且狂热的警卫们。他们拒绝为我们提供医疗护理和衣物：我们需要长时间从事极度艰苦的劳动。我们的口粮只是每天分到250克黑面包和一品脱没有调味的土豆汤。两个月来，我拼命地改善我们的处境，得到的却是虚情假意的哂笑。我警告那些警卫们，当俄国人来的时候，我会以牙还牙。他们将我毒打一顿。我也被革去了组长职务。殴打的时间不是很久：其中一位男孩饿死了，两个偷食的孩子被党卫军射杀了。
On about February 14th the Americans came over, followed by the R.A.F. their combined labors killed 250,000 people in twenty-four hours and destroyed all of Dresden — possibly the world’s most beautiful city. But not me.
大约2月14日，美国人来到了德累斯顿，紧随其后的是皇家空军，他们的联合行动在24小时内屠戮了25万人，整个德累斯顿变成了一片废墟——它可能是世界上最美丽的城市。但是我不这么认为。
After that we were put to work carrying corpses from Air-Raid shelters; women, children, old men; dead from concussion, fire or suffocation. Civilians cursed us and threw rocks as we carried bodies to huge funeral pyres in the city.
在那之后，我们接到任务从防空洞里搬运尸体；有妇女、儿童、老人;有死于脑震荡的、火灾甚至窒息的。当我们把尸体抬到城内巨大的火葬坑时，老百姓们咒骂我们，并向我们投掷石块。
When General Patton took Leipzig we were evacuated on foot to (‘the Saxony-Czechoslovakian border’?). There we remained until the war ended. Our guards deserted us. On that happy day the Russians were intent on mopping up isolated outlaw resistance in our sector. Their planes (P-39’s) strafed and bombed us, killing fourteen, but not me.
当巴顿将军攻占莱比锡后，我们步行撤退至(“萨克森-捷克斯洛伐克边境”?)我们一直呆在那里，直到战争结束。我们被自己的卫兵抛弃。就在那个快乐的一天，俄国人决心肃清我们区孤立的非法抵抗势力。他们的飞机(P-39)对我们进行扫射和轰炸，14人被炸死，我又大难不死。
Eight of us stole a team and wagon. We traveled and looted our way through Sudetenland and Saxony for eight days, living like kings. The Russians are crazy about Americans. The Russians picked us up in Dresden. We rode from there to the American lines at Halle in Lend-Lease Ford trucks. We’ve since been flown to Le Havre.
幸存的八个人偷了几头牲畜和一辆货车。我们像国王一样奢侈地享受了八天，在苏德坦和撒克逊四处游荡，劫掠财物。俄罗斯人对美国人由衷地狂热。他们在德累斯顿接待了我们。我们从那里乘坐出租的福特卡车到达美军位于哈勒的防线。我们已经飞往勒阿弗尔。
I’m writing from a Red Cross Club in the Le Havre P.O.W. Repatriation Camp. I’m being wonderfully well feed and entertained. The state-bound ships are jammed, naturally, so I’ll have to be patient. I hope to be home in a month. Once home I’ll be given twenty-one days recuperation at Atterbury, about $600 back pay and — get this — sixty (60) days furlough.
我在勒阿弗尔战俘遣返营的红十字会写信。我现在吃穿不愁，也过得很开心。回国的船自然挤满了人，所以我必须耐心等待。我希望一个月后回家。回家后我会在阿特伯里休养21天，大约会有600美元的欠薪，还有60天的休假。
I’ve too damned much to say, the rest will have to wait, I can’t receive mail here so don’t write.
该死！我有太多的话想要倾诉，日后再细聊吧，我在这儿收不到信件了，所以别写信了。
May 29, 1945
1945年5月29日
Love,
爱你的，
Kurt – Jr.
小库尔特