Arbeit macht frei: - Fredrick Töben

I must have dozed off; suddenly I hear the usual commotion in the corridor
– the fellows are coming for afternoon inspection, I jump off the mattress,
fold the linen blanket and stand to attention, and await the rattle at the door
and its almost simultaneous opening, to reveal a couple of officers
purposefully marching in.
‘Take your rubbish to the bin!’.
‘Sir!’.
I pick up the small bag and carry it along the corridor and then drop it in
the bin at the end of the corridor where three officers observe me like
hawks. It is a kind of observation because I see in their eyes an almost
fearful, frightening, wild look, perhaps even an angry look – difficult to
understand. My task must have satisfied them because they remain silent. I
return to my cell, standing outside against the wall awaiting the command to
enter and hear the inspection report.
The basin and toilet bowl are not mentioned so I must have cleaned them
to perfection. I don’t think the fellows know that for me cleanliness is a
basic virtue and that it can never be punishment for me to clean anything at
all. That was one of the reasons why I was not liked in some schools – I
never imposed cleaning up the school as a form of punishment, as so many
teachers would do as a matter of course. To celebrate any form of dirty
bohemian lifestyle as a virtue is not with me.
One of the men began to speak, ‘The blankets aren’t folded properly – take
them out, take the mattress out into the corridor, then have your shower!’.
The severe tone is reinforced by close physical proximity. I was about to
inform the officer that I am not yet deaf and I don’t like him almost
physically touching me, and to back off – but I bit my tongue. ‘Freddie
boy’, I thought, ‘This is like the army, except here there are half-a-dozen
sergeant majors who, if they were subjected to it, would perhaps not cope
with their own generated stress. They had the body mass but something
didn’t quite ring true. Years ago I had a sergeant major, a wiry man who was
about 5 foot 2 inches, who commanded respect because he led by example.
But here, I am a prisoner deserving of punishment.
I walked to the shower situated diagonally opposite the rubbish bin at the
end of the corridor.
‘When you’ve finished, press the button!’.
‘Sir!’
164