"In this room, you will be making bombs," said the supervisor. "The reason for no metal is because you could create a spark and that could cause an explosion." Making bombs? I suddenly felt weak at the knees. I had been so afraid of Allied bombs hitting us, yet our fate here was even worse. They expected us to make bombs for the Nazis, our enemies. The woman walked over to the table of metal parts and, with both hands, positioned one of the cylindrical pieces so it stood upright. "This is the body of the bomb." She turned it so we could see the hollow inside. "You will seal the bottom with this" - she held up a different metal part - "then fill the hollow part with Kordit." She set the cylindrical piece back down on the table and walked over to the array of strawlike bundles. "You must be very careful when you insert this metal straw. It is an explosive." The woman's mouth formed the words and I tried to pay attention to her demonstration, but I was so horrified that the room swirled. How could she ask us to do this? Didn't she know that we all were hoping and praying that the Allies would win? How could they force us to make these weapons? I took gulping breaths to keep from fainting as she explained what we had to do. I looked over at Zenia. Her face was ashen. Natalia's eyes were wide and her jaw was slack. We were all thinking the same thing. "Each of you was chosen for your deft fingers," said the supervisor. "And in case you're thinking of sabotaging these bombs, don't bother. You're being watched." Excerpted from Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
