POV of German worker
2-9-April-1916
An abrupt movement woke me up. I opened my eyes with a heavy yawn and looked around; there was barely any sunlight inside the wagon.
I rubbed my eyes and stretched, noticing that my movement had started to wake my family, who began doing the same. The journey to Kiew had been long from Berlin, surely more than a day, because when I looked out the window the sun was just rising.
I stood up and kept stretching.
''You there, those with tickets to Kiew, you are at the station. Get off, you have ten minutes or the train will depart to its next destination'' said one of the train workers moving through the crowded aisles, in a situation quite similar to ours.
''We arrived'' I said looking at my wife, who was still confused as she wiped the drool from her mouth with her forearm.
''Good… let's hope everything goes well'' my wife said, clasping her hands and bringing them to her forehead.
We began preparing to get off the train, taking our suitcases and moving our children, as well as my three brothers with their families and our parents.
We had traveled to Kiew because I had been contacted through my boss. They needed workers to dedicate themselves to building tractors, since they were trying to reduce the manpower required for agricultural work and were looking for people who knew as much as possible about the trade, without having to teach everything from scratch to new workers.
My boss, contacted by some kind of Prussian junker, had offered me the position in a factory in Ukraine, offering to double my salary in marks, give me a house, and provide food for a month for several months.
And the only thing I had to do was pack my things and arrive in Kiew as soon as possible. This offer had been given to many of us who worked assembling railroads in Berlin, with the intention that we would go as soon as possible. It also seemed that they had brought in people with little experience, since it was noticeable that there were many young men with us on the train.
Since almost all my brothers worked in the same field, we accepted the offer, because living in Berlin all together in the same house with only three rooms was not exactly a luxury, especially when each of us had been offered a house in an apartment building constructed in Kiew that supposedly would have much more space than the houses we lived in.
So we sold everything we could in the little time we had and ended the rental contract with the intention of changing our work situation a bit. One of the main things that worried me the most was being recruited to serve at the front, and those going to Ukraine had the best way to avoid ending up in conscription, since you were considered part of a combat zone, so it was not necessary for them to take you to training camps.
We took our things, carrying heavy suitcases, and began to get off the train, followed by my whole family and my brothers, who also struggled with the weight of having brought practically our entire house with us.
Many people got off the train at the Kiew station, where we found several carts waiting for us and some soldiers wearing a kind of strange uniform, very different from the typical German army uniform. There were many patterns mixed together, as if someone had played with shades of green, brown, and gray.
Among them there was someone who seemed to be the officer of the group, although it was hard to tell, since they all wore the same uniform and did not seem to have any difference between them. Still, the one at the front watched us closely, his eyes moving over all the groups.
''Good, those who have arrived here did so because there was a contract involved, so please leave your things in the carts. We will transport you immediately to your new homes so that afterwards you can head to your workplaces… since due to urgent needs you must begin your work shifts immediately'' said the soldier who was watching us, pointing at the carts.
We began to move, and the other soldiers helped us load our things onto the carts, as well as helping us climb aboard. When everything was ready, they whipped the horses and the shaking and jolting began as we moved forward.
The train station area was a boiling mass of people. There were workers everywhere, along with soldiers moving crates, loading and unloading things from the trains.
Wherever I looked, I saw soldiers that varied between the uniform of our guides and the typical German uniform.
After a few minutes we left the train station, which was under extreme security. All the entrances were guarded, with multiple layers of guards controlling everyone who entered the area.
''Papiere, bitte'' said one of the soldiers looking at our guide.
He immediately put the papers in front of his face. The soldier read them and quickly raised the barrier, allowing us to leave the place.
A few minutes passed until we finally began to leave the city toward its outskirts, and we came across a place full of people working.
''Hey, that's strange… what are so many doing working out in the open?'' I said, noticing that there were a lot of workers busy with what looked like some kind of engine.
''I don't know… but there are a lot of them'' said one of my brothers, scratching his head as we watched hundreds or thousands of people working on the same type of machine.
''This is where you will work. Understand that this factory was planned for about 300 workers, capable of producing a few tractors a day. But due to certain events outside the control of the minister of agriculture of the kingdom, we had to dedicate ourselves to expanding the industry like never before. It will have to finance the next agricultural reforms itself… so this will be your workplace, although it is already planned that the factory will expand to house about 5000 workers'' said the soldier guiding us.
''Ah… that makes sense'' I said, looking at my brother, and we both nodded at the news.
As we kept moving, we saw some men with something covering their faces while they cut parts from shoes. There were piles of cut footwear, and also what looked like broken vehicle wheels that they were cutting and throwing into some kind of container.
Without saying a word, we managed to spot what seemed to be a finished tractor. It was a metal machine with large rubber wheels. They had been placed on a platform, and a mechanism began to move them, carrying five of them in the direction of the train station.
Finally after several more minutes of travel we arrived at a sector that looked much newer than the rest of the city. The buildings seemed recent and we noticed some apartments that were far more spacious and solid than the ones we had in Berlin.
The soldier guiding us got down from his horse.
''Good, we have arrived. These will be your homes for as long as you remain working in the area or if you decide to settle here. The conditions to keep the property permanently are to work in the factory for a period of 10 years or to settle in Ukraine permanently, proving at least 20 years of residence in the area. By fulfilling that, the house given to you will be yours. You will not have to pay rent while it is not'' said the German soldier, slightly tilting his neck as he looked at us. ''Any questions?''
''Yes… which one is my apartment?'' I asked, raising my hand.
''It depends on how fast you choose. From the second floor upward they are available, the first floor will be businesses that will be sold later'' the soldier replied, pointing at some workers who were waiting for us.
Without wasting a second I jumped down from the horse drawn cart and approached the group of workers. It did not take long before I heard the others doing the same.
''Name? Number of family members who will live with you?'' one of the workers asked with some papers in front of him.
''Ludwig… myself, my wife, my four children and my parents. Eight people in total'' I replied with a slight smile, lowering my head.
''Good… here is the documentation that temporarily grants you this apartment as your new home. 201 second floor'' the worker said after filling out some papers and handing me a set of keys.
''That's it… just like that'' I said tightening the keys in my hand after receiving them.
''Yes… now move along, there are more people'' the worker replied.
I nodded and quickly went to get my family, watching as my brothers were lining up to receive their homes as well.
We brought our things down and it did not take long to carry everything up to the apartment.
''God… this place is huge'' I said while looking around the interior.
''At last God rewards us for our faith'' my wife said, hugging our children as a few tears fell from her eyes.
''We have a bathroom'' I said as I opened one of the doors.
''Two… we have two'' my wife replied from another room.
I went to check and noticed that there was a room with its own bathroom as well as a shared one for the others. We came from sharing a bathroom with the entire floor in Berlin so the change left me silent for a few seconds.
There was more light, better ventilation… it even came with some simple beds.
It did not take long for us to leave my parents in the room with the private bathroom since due to their age they would need it more. Then I distributed my children among the other rooms and my wife and I took ours.
I would have liked to keep exploring the place but it did not take long before they came to get us to go to work.
We were immediately taken to the factory we had seen earlier and given basic training on what we had to do. For the most part we had to assemble the already manufactured parts of the engine, make sure it worked properly and then send it to the section where it was mounted onto the tractor chassis.
It was not a problem. They gave us enough time to learn and then begin on our own. With my brothers we did not take long to assemble one engine and immediately moved on to the next.
We were given a break to eat. Everyone began to gather. The only difference from my old job was that here there were Ukrainian workers with us. They knew how to say a few basic things in German but for the most part they only nodded to what the foremen told them.
After an hour of rest we continued working until we finished assembling a second engine. After verifying that it worked properly we watched as other workers lifted it with chains and placed it onto the chassis sending it afterward to the section where the rubber wheels were installed.
I was about to return to work when a foreman arrived with a megaphone.
''Alright shift is over. See you tomorrow at the same time. Leave so the next shift can begin working'' he shouted.
Everyone stopped working. We were somewhat confused by how short the workday had been.
That was when they explained to me that these were not twelve hour shifts like I was used to but eight hour ones. There were three shifts in the factory and ours, the morning shift, had already ended. The next group arrived quickly so we had to leave.
I was starting to like this idea of changing homes.
It did not take us long to organize everything in the apartment, take out our clothes, place the decorations we brought and leave our new home ready.
While we were doing that soldiers arrived and brought us food for the month and then left.
If I had known it would be like this I would not have hesitated for a second.
We were all happy with the change, especially my wife who kept thanking God for what we had obtained. We no longer had to live in Berlin with the whole family in a small space, sharing a bathroom and dealing with that damp air that filled our old home.
It did not take long for us to settle in and get to know our neighbors. One afternoon we went out for a walk to get to know the city and we noticed something strange, it was almost deserted, full of guards.
It was normal to see German patrols with those multi pattern uniforms greeting us as we passed by.
We took the opportunity to see the school where our children would have to go but while we were looking at the place we saw something that froze us.
When we were heading back in the late afternoon thousands of people began to arrive from the train station.
''My God'' my wife said bringing her hands to her mouth while trying to cover the eyes of the youngest.
A large group of Ukrainians was returning from work. They were exhausted, drained, broken by what had clearly been a brutal day.
We watched in silence. The ones who worked with us were fine… but they were in very bad condition.
It did not take long before we left the place. Many of them looked at us with anger when they saw us.
We returned home immediately.
That was when we understood something we had not seen before, we were privileged.
And we had not even realized that there was a massive rationing system in the city.
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