This story is set on the Eastern front during the 2nd World War and portrays some of the barbaric deeds committed by the facist forces in their quest to obliterate the Soviet Union, take the land for their Lebensraum and turn the Slavic "sub humans" into a race of slaves. This is a work of fiction but the levels of inhumanity and wanton cruelty are true, the Joy Division being just one example of this. I would also like to point out that I have no facist sympathies and find all nazi ideology abhorrent.
JOY DIVISION
Chapter 1 Capture
The Train rolled steadily westwards through the vast wheat covered plains of western Russia, towards the front and bloody hell. Natasha a petite 21 year old former student and now corporal in the Soviet Red Army sat on the window seat staring at the passing landscape wondering how quickly her life had changed, only two weeks ago she had been a care free student at University of Moscow in her 3rd year of studying German and German literature. She had inherited her love of Goethe and Schiller from her father who studied in Leipzig before the great war.
When Hitler's forces invaded she had been as surprised as most soviet citizens, hadn't comrade Stalin signed a non aggression treaty with the facists? Her Fluent German had drawn the attention of the red army and a week after outbreak of war she and most of her class mates had been enlisted.
Her train compartment was full 5, men and her. She still wasn't used to the olive red army uniform with which she had been issued but she must have looked quite cute judging from the stares of her fellow soldiers in the compartment. She would catch one of them ogling her but quickly looked out the window again, her pale freckled face crimson with embarrassment. Her friends had always told her that she was pretty but she always found herself to small and skinny compared to her more voluptuous classmates. She had long raven curls which at the moment she kept in a bun under her army cap which drew more attention to her beautiful blue eyes, blue like the clear April skies after a long cruel Russian winter
Her orders where to join Major General Koniev's staff near Minsk and take up her post as wireless operator. Wireless operator was maybe a bit of a unflattering term for her role, her job was to listen into German communications translate them and pass them on to senior officers for analysis. Here she was after two weeks basic training off to join her first posting, she had not even fired a weapon yet!
After a while she fell asleep her head resting against the window confused dreams filling her mind. She awoke with a bang as the train crashed on its side and the night erupted with artillery and small arms fire catapulting her through the widow into the dark. Landing on her knees she was stunned and took a few moments to come round again, blinded by the fire which had engulfed the train in which she had slept only a few seconds ago! Around her men were desperately searching for weapons with which they could return fire upon the closing Germans. Even if Natasha had a rifle, she had no idea how to use one, so she decided to help some of the medics treating the many wounded. Luckily her kit bag had been on her lap when she was thrown out of the carriage and she found it after searching the embankment. From it she took the first aid kit and handed it to a medic who muttered "thanks". Even to her military untrained mind the battle seemed to be going badly, the survivors from the train were armed with small arms and a few mortars while the Nazi's had tanks, artillery and more men. It was over after a short with the Russians laying down their weapons and surrendering to the victorious Germans.
They were marched westwards through the night, the wounded who were to badly hurt to walk were shot mercilessly and 300 soviet soldiers went into captivity. Natasha was weeping partly through shock, partly because the nasty cuts on her arms and body which she got when she was flung through the train window. The column was herded on its way by gloating German military police, using kicks, rifle butts and curses to ensure steady progress was made towards their destination. In the distance she could see the intense glow of a bright fire which some of her comrades pointed out was Minsk!
Dawn was breaking as the column made its way into the outskirts of Minsk or what was left of Minsk! Every where there were signs of the battle that had been fought a short while ago, dead bodies (mainly red army), burning vehicles and ruined buildings. The march ended in a football stadium, that somehow managed to escape the carnage and destruction. Natasha was near collapse she was exhausted and dying of thirst "I must be able to reason with these people!" she thought to her self and approached one of her captors.
