Thirty Days in Lithuania in 1919Saurusaitis, Peter
History
Thirty Days in Lithuania in 1919
Saurusaitis, Peter
Lithuania
After remaining in Paris for three days, trusting the advice of the
Lithuanian Legation, having seen all authorities of France and England,
I started for Lithuania by way of Belgium, Cologne, Berlin, Eytkunen, to
the first station of Lithuania, called Valkaviskis. My baggage was
addressed by the same route and was carried on the same train. The train
left Paris at 9:30 P. M. I had a chance to see some of the ruined cities
of Belgium only in the morning--at night there was no possibility of
seeing. When we came to the first station in Germany, Herbesthal, the
German inspector of passports and baggage came to examine all trunks. I
was told that the train would wait there at the station till all the
trunks were carried back to the baggage room and the same train would
carry them together with the passengers. But it was just to the
contrary. When I returned from the station after unlocking and locking
my trunk the train was gone, and my trunk was left in Herbesthal and my
two suit cases were carried away to Cologne. I was obliged to take
another train to Cologne. On the first train we were supposed to arrive
in Cologne about 11:00 a. m.; on the second train we did not arrive
until very near four p. m. I was afraid of losing both my suit case,
portable altar and the trunk. The suit case and the portable altar I
found in Cologne, with the help of the British soldiers, but my trunk,
worth about five hundred dollars, is lost forever in Germany.
In Cologne I tried in vain to get breakfast about 4:30 p. m. If you do
not drink beer you can get nothing to eat. Those who drink beer get some
herrings without bread. Bread you get only once a day--two small thin
slices, for supper. There are no dining rooms on the trains any more in
Germany.
At 9:30 p. m. the train left Cologne for Berlin. Near Berlin the
British inspector of passports told me: "I allow you this time to pass
this way to Lithuania if you promise me not to return to America the
same way." I said: "I will return by way of Libow." At 8:30 a. m. the
train arrived in Berlin and left for Koenigsberg and Eytkunen at 9:30 p.
m. The evening trip from Berlin was a regular torture to me which I
shall never forget. It seems to me that on that evening there must have
been some sort of revolution among the German parties. No matter what
the classification of the ticket of any passenger, whether first,
second, third or fourth class, there was no distinction in the service
on the train. There was such a multitude of people flocking to the
train, the stronger ones trampling over the weaker--especially the
women. Even after the train was filled there were many left to stand and
wait for another train. I had a second class ticket and was obliged to
sit in the corridor on my suit case all night and the greater part of
the day.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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