It was a cold night for me and my men. For many, the cold symbolises suffering, danger, and all things evil; not for us! For us, it represented victory: when the German tracks were stuck in the snow and the lions of Stalingrad came at them from all sides, devouring their prey. It represented glory: for all our greatest battles were fought in the snow. But most of all, it represented home: ice skating on the lake, watching our children sleigh and pondering their innocence, and even drinking vodka. Ah! the cold. How I had yearned for it after fighting in the sun for what felt like a century.
We were heading for Warsaw. It was an arduous journey but nonetheless a merry one; we had seen no German patrols and the Regiment was in high spirits. I even managed to procure some Dortmunder from a barn; a war crime befitting no Soviet lieutenant-- but it was the New Year! I touched my brother on the shoulder, "This is living." And filled his flask.
- "Zhit', chtoby umeret'! "
- "Live to die!" I repeated. And we walked further on, singing as we went.
It must have been no later than twelve when our scouts informed us of some Germans at what looked to be a prison. The 1085th were sent to check as the others waited. I led this patrol. We moved through the snow up a hill and laid there. I sent for my binoculars and surveyed the area; men and women in striped rags... Prisoners? Smoke rising from a lit building, but no soldiers. I fired a round into the air; a witless move. When I heard no return shot and saw no soldiers, I concluded that the Germans must have fled after hearing news of our coming.
We were at the gate now. Two men in the same clothes, starved to the bone, greeted us with unintelligible wails. The stench made me sick but I swallowed it so that my men wouldn't panic. On the sign it read, 'WORK MAKES YOU FREE'; my German is not excellent. We entered the camp with caution, still wary of any German presence. The path was made of grit, the colour of sand, and I saw a dead body---- RAN OUT OF TIME CRAP I RUSHED THIS LAST BIT SORRY AGH.
