01:21

Ruth Deutschmann

Benjamin Epp

Wien

2008-06-13

Sylvia Manning - Baumgartner

1944

Yes, you go numb. You stop feeling. For example before the war - I used to think I would never shoot a Russian or another human being. But after the two shots hit me, and I saw, how many of my own people were killed in action, and how the Russians were shooting - how trigger-happy they were - then automatically I felt different. I had to see how to get out of there, if I could get one of them. If I can eliminate the ambusher or if I can shoot the other one. And when the opportunity came, I was able to shoot as a matter of course. I wasn't able to see my target. Maybe if I had seen him, I might not have shot. But as it was .. you’re simply cold: it’s either him or me. So I gave it a go. Later, my thoughts about the pending political prosecutions were: "Well, I'll just have to accept whatever happens." There’s no point in being frightened beforehand. Whatever happens, happens.