The Personal Memories of Sr. Anna Bittner, DW, Part 4

Right after our wonderful reunion, we left Slavanka's house. Our destination was Austria where John was living. Since the borders between Yugoslavia and Austria were heavily guarded, Dad decided to travel through Hungary. Not quite trusting Slavanka's directions, he foolishly decided to ask someone else. This family he asked pointed us in a certain direction, and then informed the police on us. You see, a reward was given to anyone who turned in refugees.

The next thing we realized we were surrounded by soldiers.  Two of them held a gun on Dad's head and chest. Theresia froze, and I screamed, begging them not to shoot my Dad. We were taken to a certain location and interrogated.  At that point, I froze and became catatonic. We were taken to a settlement of private houses and placed under house arrest, awaiting deportation to Russia. Many other families were in the same predicament. How long we stayed there is not clear.  I remember fleeing through cornfields, hiding in ditches, hearing gunshots, and being extremely frightened. I remember some of the other families following Dads leadership, seeing his strength of character and how levelheaded he was. We were pursued by soldiers but eluded their grasp as we crossed over to Hungary.

Once in Hungary, Dad and I stayed with one family and Resi (Theresia) with another across the street from us.  I kept my eye on her.   Just to wave to her from time to time gave me security. Once a number of refugees were rounded up by soldiers.

Theresia had been sweeping the porch during the round-up but saw them in time and retreated into hiding. Thank God she was not seen.

We only stayed in Hungary for about two weeks. Dad had worked as a tailor since our arrival and had saved enough money to buy train tickets for Austria. That was another fearful experience. During the inspection, as the train crossed the border, Dad and Theresia went into hiding. I was asked to stay with a family, pretending to be asleep. I overheard the family being questioned about whether I belonged to them. The inspection seemed to last forever. When the train finally started moving again., I held my breath, hoping and praying that both Dad and Theresia would come back. Thank God they did. Thank God also for all the good people who crossed our paths, enabling us to reach our destination safely.

Since passenger trains were often stopped and inspected, we boarded a freight train for the last stretch of our journey. The train was moving slowly as Dad helped Teresia and me aboard, yet as the train picked up speed, Dad was still not with us. Motioning to us not to panic, he quickly joined us. He threw some wood out as the train sped along to make room for us, then covered us with boards. Thank God we were not detected during the last inspection.

Horror filled as were all these experiences; they were not as gruesome as Dachau, Buchenwald, or Auschwitz.  Will we ever learn to live together as a human family, children of the same God?

When our train stopped in Innsbruck, we heard German voices. Dad looked out and saw some farmers in a nearby field. They shared their food and water with us, and one of them gave Dad 5 shilling. My experience has been that the poor often share out of their want.

From Innsbruck we safely traveled to Salzburg, where John had been living. Our unforgettable reunion took place on December 5, 1947, a day I shall never forget.