Buchenwald, 14/12/1938 - in memoriam

On December 14th 1938 (so 70 years ago today) two prisoners escaped from the concentration camp Buchenwald, near the German city of Jena. The other prisoners were forced to stand through the night, nineteen hours in thin clothing and sub-zero temperatures, till the escapees were returned. More than sixty died.
Details appear in several accounts, cited in Paul F. Cummins biography of Herbert Zipper, Dachau Song.
The conductor Zipper was one of those detailed to carry away the corpses. He survived the ordeal by concentrating 'upon the blood flowing through his body, becoming conscious of each muscle, each part of his body and through sheer mind and willpower of his mind to keep his circulation flowing. He also concentrated on making slight movements in each part of his body, keeping his toes, fingers, every muscle in regular movement in ways that could not be detected by the guards who were moving about and clubbing people. In this manner he survived the ordeal without injury,' the only person not to succumb to frostbite.
Between the prisoners' kitchen and the laundy in Buchenwald grew the 'Goethe Oak', the tree under which Goethe had written his poem 'Ein Glieches' which starts 'Uber allen Gipfeln ist Ruh,' ... above all the summits there is peace.
Lest we forget.