358
PARTISAN REVIEW
downed in a gulp. They were simple fellows and prepared to love
us. The Germans darted from them. A German on a bicycle who
didn't scurry quickly enough was sent sprawling by a swat from a
gun stock. They toasted us in a German too primitive for me to
easily understand. When I asked where their troops were, they waved
vaguely in the direction from which they had come. They observed
the factory and were appreciative. I gathered they relished the loot
entrenched there. The lieutenant had me ask them to present their
officers. They understood and nodded enthusiasticaJly.
uAmerikanski–
Russki-ami!"
they shouted. They did not defer to the lieutenant. They
rather ignored him. Within moments after they had arrived they
were surrounded by Russians, DPs who had been slave laborers. The
women swarmed over the two Russians. They spoke to them, all in
a rush. The soldiers grinned and frowned. They nodded. They ob–
viously were making their own plans for our town. The DPs motioned
towMd the factory, toward the fields. Some of them wept. The
soldiers said,
uDa. Da."
They grinned at us but their attention was
fixed on our town. A German civilian passed and one of the Russian
women spat on him. He scurried.
The taller of the two soldiers told me that the Germans had
been hard on his people. He said that his people were upset because
the Americans had done nothing to punish their persecutors. He
said that now that the Russians had arrived justice would be done.
I informed the lieutenant.
"We don't want no trouble," Lt. Blue said. "We got charge
of this town and we can't have the Russkys running all over it. Tell
this guy I want to talk to
his
officer."
When the Russian soldiers left, the lieutenant assembled us. We
were informed that under no conditions were we to be provoked
into fighting.
If
there was any difficulty with the Russians we were
to come to him.
The Russian officer came in a horse-cart whose driver was a
wide-faced stubby woman in a military tunic, wearing a beret. De–
spite his poor vehicle, he made a grand entrance. He was taller than
the two Russians we had previously seen. His uniform was im–
maculate, high boots with a patent leather shine. He wore braided
epaulets. We were none of us familiar with the Russian ranking
and didn't know what his grade was. He was a young man, blond,
