PLEASE NOTE: This book contains graphic description ... - HUNSOR

Russian officers cursed and told the partisans, "There was enough bloodshed, let these peoplego home!"We were ordered from the stand that everyone must leave the village by 6 P.M.. and go atleast six kilometers away. Women and children were allowed to go, but the men betweeneighteen and forty had to remain.I have never seen such a mess as followed that order. Everybody ran like hell, but thesoldiers chased them back to the field. There was only one free road towards the engine-house,but there was a deep ditch there full of water and you could cross it over a little wooden bridgethree or four steps wide. The whole crowd was pushing that way, crying, screaming, yelling,shoving and treading on one another as if some lunatics had been let loose from a madhouse.Two armed partisans stood on guard on each side of the bridge and chased back each man whowanted to cross the ditch. When I was whirled onto the bridge by the crowd, I walked almostcrouching so that even my hat couldn't be seen. I was drifting with the throng and we got pastthe bridge at last. Everyone ran towards the embankment and then home.In the afternoon we also left for the farm of my brother-in-law. From the corner we sawthat the men who had remained on the soccer field were escorted in columns four abreasttowards Zombor. The road was full of refugees. There were wagons loaded with bedding,others were pushing wheelbarrows, almost breaking their backs in the effort. It was verydifficult to get ahead, since the road was flooded by all kinds of military vehicles, tanks,trucks, batteries pulled by horses."The recollections of F.R.:"It was announced by the town crier that everyone must come32to the soccer field. They want to find nobody at home, except the ill or the elderly peopleunable to walk.Then on the soccer field they surrounded us with machine guns. The whole village stoodthere, awaiting their fate. In the meantime, the Russians were working on the telephone line bythe Danube and their commander saw the big crowd and the machine guns all around. Heasked the soldiers:"What's happening here?"One of them answered:"Our commander wants to give a speech.""Where your headquarters are?""The third building from here: that big house over there."The Russian jumped on his horse and came back with the partisan commander within tenminutes. All we saw was that when he got to the place where the machine guns were, he tookout his blackjack and bang! He beat the partisans within inches of their life. He said:"Go home, everybody!"Then the partisans, to hide their shame, ordered that all men under forty must stay therefor work. They gathered some five hundred of them and began to drive them toward Zomborin rows of four. When we got to the Kozora woods, one of the partisans shouted:"Three steps to right and left and load guns".