Panorama (52 page)

Nearby these barracks are others that house some thirty independent tradesmen who are part of a number of men from the surrounding villages who are involved with building the railroad. A bit farther on the overseers live with their families in two nicer barracks, they being called “Master” or “Herr Master,” burly men in the prime of their lives whose names are Rubák, Vodil, Chudoba, and Sajdl. At the end of this settlement the highway leaves the creek and winds uphill to the left, then to the right and back alongside the creek bed until it turns into a cart path, two decorated block houses with little gardens standing at the beginning, which is where those in charge of the building project live with their wives and children. Head Engineer Čiperný is the leader of the section, at his side Technical Engineer Mozol, who has nothing against the forced laborers and, somewhat shy, does his best to chat with them, while the capable and somewhat intimidating bookkeeper, Podlaha, lends administrative help to the head engineer, who certainly is not a bad man, though he is tough on the forced laborers, there being hardly a day that passes when he doesn’t reprimand Otto seriously, who raises issues with Čiperný, who then threatens that if … And this “if” is so clear that he doesn’t have to say another word, there’s no messing around, for there are other means at the ready to deal with any troublemakers, and hinting at such unspoken means is enough to inspire fearful submission. Nothing, however, is known for sure, or hardly anything is known at all during this time, everything kept simmering behind a secret veil, though it must be something quite horrible, the men part of a regiment that is perhaps tougher than any ever experienced before by masters and servants. Therefore it’s unlikely that the head engineer even knows the worst consequences of his own veiled threats, he having to remain fearsome and thus not free himself, freedom being for him a dubious concept that one must
continually determine anew, and which according to current circumstances must be asserted or abandoned. The new arrivals are warned by Čiperný that what they do in their free time is not his concern, but no one had better be caught sloughing off at work, for at a minimum everyone has to keep on the go, not even the briefest of breaks allowed, and it should be noted that “eighteen” will be called out when there’s a danger of falling behind pace, the workers calling it out the moment a monitor nears, at which they have to work twice as fast, though once the danger is over “twenty” is called out, a system they call “marking.”

Otto gathers the new ones after they arrive out in the open air and says that things here work through camaraderie, everyone is in the same boat, Otto doesn’t wish to command, but each must give his all so that there are no problems, the group leader expecting that they will understand his difficult position, and that they should make his unpleasant assignment easier, for he is caught in the middle between his comrades and the head builders, his job being to fend off trouble, Otto working to provide the best for the group as a whole, though he expects obedience from each, which the gathering vows openly, after which he warns that sick leave is to be avoided at all costs, the head builders having informed him that there are too many malingerers and deadbeats, which is what they call taking sick leave and slacking off. Then Otto explains the daily schedule, everyone rising early at the sound of the clock at five-thirty and needing to get ready to be at his workstation by seven, which can be as much as an hour away, lunch lasting only half an hour between one and one-thirty, which means only a few are able to eat in the canteen, so everyone needs to bring something along, though the head engineer lets one man from each section go to the canteen to get a pot of soup, lunch being picked up and distributed warm each evening, work lasting until five, everyone working ten hours a day, including the lunch break, Saturday afternoon being free, though sometimes you have to work voluntarily, for which there is special pay, the salary calculated on an hourly basis and paid out on Saturday every fourteen days at the end of work, while anyone who doesn’t have any money can make a special request of the bookkeeper for an advance on the following Saturday, Sundays also free, travel home on the weekends forbidden, though you can shop in the village and get a haircut, although you should allow yourself to be seen in
town as little as possible, but arranging for farmers to deliver milk by cart is allowed. Dealing on the black market, however, cannot occur under any circumstances, for any trespass of this rule will be harshly dealt with by the higher-ups with the strongest of measures, thus causing the entire group to suffer, so no one should allow himself to be caught. Visiting taverns is forbidden, and though walks are not expressly prohibited, it’s not a good idea, nor should you move around town as a group, but instead use only side streets, no more than three men at a time and no farther than ten kilometers from the camp. Therefore you can’t go to Sobolec, for it’s eleven kilometers away, although there is a doctor there whom you need a pass from the bookkeeper to visit. Anyone who is sick should first see Otto and the group’s own doctor, who is there to examine all deadbeats, while whoever is in fact sick should show up at 7
A.M
. in the office of the builders’ hut, where the bookkeeper will issue a note and the necessary pass that will allow the journey to Sobolec. With that you have to hurry to the station in order to catch the morning train, while in Sobolec you have to go straight to the doctor’s office, since any detour, any dawdling, any shopping in any store is strictly forbidden, there being no way for Otto to emphasize enough how important it is to follow these restrictions to the letter, the police in Sobolec are not very pleasant to deal with, and Otto doesn’t wish a visit from them here in the camp on anyone. The doctor has to make a very careful examination, as he’s not allowed to declare more than five percent of the forced laborers sick at any one time, which is why Otto requests that they avoid asking for sick leave at all costs. The doctor in Sobolec will declare each one fit for work or grant a couple of days off from work, while some he will ask to see again as he hands out a prescription that can be filled at the pharmacy, after which you have to head straight to the station to wait two or three hours for the midday train, hanging around in the waiting room out of the question, so you have to wait on the platform, where you sit on the benches only when there’s no one else to claim a spot, while after you return you have to inform Otto about the doctor’s findings, which determines if you are allowed to go to your room or head back to join the afternoon shift. Otto then explains that on Sundays he collects food tickets for the canteen, each laborer having several in his pocket in order to buy bread, while anyone who doesn’t want to eat Frau Miltschi’s food can keep all of his tickets, though it’s wiser to use
the canteen, for it pleases the head engineer. Last, Otto commands the new arrivals to break up into groups so that he can lead them to their rooms.

The groups quickly form together according to where they were on the train, Josef finding his fellow travelers, young boys who are roughly ten years younger than himself. After a while Otto leads Josef’s group into a freshly swept room, the head of the camp then proceeding to add to the instructions he had shared with them outside. Wood for heating will be provided twice a week, for which a small fee will be charged, the room needing to be kept clean, no one allowed to keep any forbidden or black-market goods, which in fact has never occurred at Wirschenowitz, though at a neighboring camp all the inhabitants of one room were arrested after a room search, all eight of them never heard from again. Meanwhile, as for the wood, since it’s August there’s no need for any heat, but it’s a rough climate, and by September they will want some, the oven easy to maintain, cooking is allowed, with plenty of water available from two pumps outside, while washing can be done down below in the creek, though water can also be brought up, each room having a pitcher and two basins for this purpose. The room should be cleaned early each morning, ashes and garbage needing to be hauled out and taken to the cesspit, no paper left lying around, the beds made in an orderly manner so that Čiperný can see that he lives among civilized people. At night the lights need to be out by ten, eleven on Saturday, followed by complete quiet. Josef is then named head of the group and is made responsible for his comrades, all the group leaders needing to meet with Otto briefly each evening, after which at nine he holds open office hours, though he asks that he be bothered only for the most pressing reasons and that everything be worked out in a friendly manner, after which Otto makes final rounds, not in order to snoop but to know personally that everywhere there is peace and quiet.

The head of camp shakes each hand and leaves the room, Josef now alone with his boys, at which he discusses how they are going to split up the beds, he wanting to earn their trust, Otto returning once more, since he forgot to say that everyone has to be in his room by eight o’clock at night, for any violation of the rules that is caught by a patrol can lead to serious consequences, each needing to be in his room according to strict rules, and though Čiperný can say that nothing will happen to anyone who is inside
the camp, it’s still forbidden to be in the canteen past eight o’clock. At this Otto leaves the room and Josef can talk with his colleagues, telling them that he hopes everything will go well between them, saying that he believes everyone needs to make sure to stay healthy. The young boys are nice, and seem to have their heads on their shoulders as they settle in and get used to the camp and wander around to see the surroundings, all of them returning before it’s time for the lockdown, Simon pleasing Josef the most, demonstrating cleverness and maturity, while others show signs of feeling demoralized, mild doubts having transformed into fecklessness, hostile resistance, and self-indulgence, two of them continuing to talk on salaciously after returning from their ramble, where they met a girl from the village who had no qualms about going for a roll in the bushes, and that she’ll be there again tomorrow, and whoever wants to can have her, for she’s pretty and totally wild for men. Josef doesn’t want to preach manners, nor does he want to be a spoilsport, but he warns the two of them vigorously that they will be arrested if it gets around, and a problem with a girl can cost you your life, not to mention threaten everyone in the room, if not the entire camp, which Josef says is the main concern, any threat to which he will not tolerate, not to mention that the room is not the place for such filth, for though he has nothing against earthy humor, he has no time for base and lewd talk. Josef speaks firmly and politely to his young mates, they listening to him reluctantly at first, then approvingly, realizing the need to be clear and in agreement about the serious consequences that can result from any negligent action, to build a sense of community among themselves that involves the same rules and responsibilities for all, everyone wanting to live sensibly and orderly, no matter what circumstances arise. One day the times will change, whereupon each can live as he pleases, but in Wirschenowitz you can survive only by bowing to or following a number of repugnant regulations, not because you acknowledge them on the inside, since they are unjust and horrible, but because necessity and discretion demand giving in temporarily.

Josef soon sees that it will be difficult to keep the young men together, but he knows this is what he must do. That’s why he tells all of them that evening to be ready to leave the room quickly in an orderly fashion the next morning. The canteen has no evening meal ready for them, and just some watery soup, for which an unreasonable price is charged, which is why the
boys decide on Josef’s recommendation to put together the provisions they’ve brought along in order to make a meal together, and so they gather together sandwiches and cakes, someone coming up with a pot and some wood in order to prepare tea, as they decide that if the food in the canteen is terrible and unnourishing, then they will cook together on their own. From others who have already been here longer, Josef learns that the work is hard and difficult, especially when it’s unfamiliar work, though it is bearable. The incident with the canteen doesn’t bode well and resolves Josef to get members of his group to feed themselves, but he’s told that without buying food they will soon go hungry, the recommendation being to get used to Frau Miltschi’s food, because she’s nasty and dangerous, for she can sic the police on the forced laborers, which is reason enough not to bother to disturb the image of matronly care in the canteen and to keep silent in the face of the scandalous conditions. To his question about what the head of the camp does to try to change things, he’s told that he does as much as he can, but there’s not much he can do, the building company continues to issue a proper lease to Frau Miltschi, who perhaps has an in with someone in the administration, perhaps not even anyone high up, though if it has always been the case that nepotism stands in the way of justice, nowadays influence and power do not at all depend on the titular function of any position, now protection is tied to subaltern positions in government or to law-enforcement positions, nothing more need be said, insinuations being all that’s needed, while now everything is insinuated, a wink being all it takes, the powerless individual hardly ever having been more powerless, because such dirty tricks, which earlier would have been kept hidden and at least had some kind of moral opposition, now are attached to an idea through which they stealthily achieve justification. Josef is well aware of this, and needs no lecture on the current regime, but he does want to have a good understanding of the way things work in Wirschenowitz so that he can adapt to them.

Throughout the camp Josef finds that morale is good, there are splendid men here who have already accomplished something in life but who, because of the necessity of the times, have been derailed and landed in onerous poverty, resulting in their often remaining strong in their moral conviction, though for some it may be the case that it results in a certain measure of nihilsm that does not speak to their true nature. Some have brought along serious
books, making sure to keep up with their reading, gatherings taking place in some rooms where similar interests are discussed. Someone named Eugene draws Josef into a developing discussion about materialism and idealism, for he feels that the current times make irrefutable the danger of any kind of idealism and, aside from the fact of whether or not he’s right, he knows he is right in terms of Fascist enslavement, Eugene protesting vehemently when Josef counters that this has nothing to do with either idealism or materialism, as the economic or social relations of the world would seem to indicate. Materialism conceals no less danger than does idealism, political movements latching onto this or that set of ideas, not because they developed them themselves, but rather to popularize them in watered-down fashion through ideology, though one should realize that one doesn’t suffer because of one set of ideas or the other, but rather through the transgressions of the modern slave holders, one being as bad as the next, whether his ideology is drawn from idealistic or materialistic ideas. But Eugene can’t appreciate this point of view, he finds it incomprehensible that one has to suffer a regime these days that openly taps irrational ideas—which he continually equates with idealism—to assert its power, nor can he accept such old-fashioned beliefs, which Eugene calls romantic and reactionary, he being certain that the times will leave dreamers like Josef behind. Josef then counters that his view is that no one has ever suffered from the protection of sound moral footing but rather through the public and private erosion of such footing, to which he adds, “It’s not a question of metaphysics, but instead a matter of ethics. That’s why it doesn’t matter whether materialism or idealism dominates.” Eugene cannot understand this and is irritated, though Josef tries to ease any antagonism between them.