<<

jeep which was not winterized. When I arrived in Cham I found that the Jews already had a building used as a center and a synagogue. Al- most all of the Jews in this small community were living in rented apartments or furnished rooms. They were frightened and none wanted to leave to return to hated Poland . It was here that I had the first of a number of similar confrontations with American officers who did not understand the needs of the Jews; officers who themselves did not fight in the war, but had recently arrived from the United States to replace other men. Without exception these officers were living with German women and employed German women in their Headquarters . In Cham I battled with the officer and pulled out General Eisenhower's orders which required that the Jews be given adequate housing and should not be forced to return to Poland. At that time I worked very closely with General Pricket and his command of the Fourth Army Headquarters in . I threatened the officer in Cham that I would report his actions to the General if he insisted in carrying out his order. I was successful in having the order changed. On my return to , my driver and I had to cross a thirty-five kilometer autobahn which the Germans had built through a forest . We had motor trouble and it took my driver, Mosche, about an hour and a half to fix it. While waiting for the car to be repaired, my feet were frozen, and on my return to Regensburg, I had to spend about a week in the hospital . I want to note that I suffered for years as a result of this experience and finally had to undergo major surgery to improve the circulation in the leg. I still have trouble thirty-five years after this experience. Again, no one in the JOINT Head- quarters could tell me what kind of accident one could have during the winter of 1946. Another problem worth mentioning arose in the city of Eggenfelden. One day I received a

39