“……德國佬像挑揀爛蘋果一樣，把猶太裔和俄裔一個個從俘虜的隊伍中挑出，他們的眼神冷得像看死人。好人彼得走了，謝苗也走了，我卻沒時間替他們感到哀傷，因為我們這些剩下的倒霉蛋，很快被趕羊似的趕進了銹跡斑斑的火車車廂。

車廂內十分擁擠，味道簡直沒法形容，汗臭、霉味，還有傷口的血腥味混在一起...簡直令人窒息。隨著列車的顛簸前行，我們就像罐頭里的沙丁魚，在車廂里相互擠壓，幾乎無法呼吸。

我還算幸運，位于車門邊，生銹的車門鉸鏈有一條縫，月光透過縫隙，照進車廂。我看著門縫里的月亮，想起農場后院那盞昏黃的路燈。我的家鄉在密蘇里州，那里有我母親烤的蘋果派，父親釀的威士忌，還有我在農場里追逐日落的童年時光……

……火車停了下來，有人說我們被送到了捷克，至少不是奧斯維辛，門砰的一聲被打開了，陽光刺得眼睛都睜不開。一群德國兵圍上來，他們對我們又用槍托砸，又是拳打腳踢，把奄奄一息的我們趕下車。我當時走在下車隊伍的最前面，還是免不了挨了一拳，打我那個德國佬看起來才十六、七歲，但是他下手是真狠……

……就在這時候，那個小姑娘出現了，她手里拿著水槍，對著人群沖水。毆打我們的德國兵終于走了，躲到水槍沖不到的地方。我們躲無可躲，一開始，我還以為她是故意羞辱我們，但當水流進嘴，我向上帝發誓，那是我這輩子喝過最甘甜、最美味的水……

……德國佬清點了一遍人數，好多人沒挺住，死在了這列該死的火車上。那個小姑娘沒離開，還扶著一個英國佬，那家伙在諾威爾被俘（譯者：諾威爾位于阿登地區），腿上中了一槍。德國人把他拖出車廂時，他傷口感染發燒，一邊流膿一邊散發惡臭，身體軟得像灘泥。一個德國兵厭惡得抬起槍，似乎打算殺掉他，小姑娘攔下了他，她簡直就是天使。

她明明和別人一樣，穿著德國佬的黑制服，但我怎么也討厭不起來。后來，我們知道了她的名字，比安卡。她站在工廠入口旁邊，和周圍那些德國兵格格不入。他們是地獄里爬出來的魔鬼，隨時會對我們拳打腳踢。但比安卡不一樣，她笑得真美，我甚至覺得，她比教堂里掛的圣母像都好看。

靠近她的時候，她身上有一股淡淡的花香，像風鈴草和郁金香的味道，我心里一動，想起了家鄉田野上的野花。當處于生死未卜的時候，人總是特別脆弱。或許是看到我擦拭淚水，當我們要擦肩而過時，她對我說，（幾天后，提起這個場面，比利開玩笑說那姑娘當時是在看他，雖然我們都知道她其實是在看著我，但這小插曲還是讓我們在絕望中找到了片刻的輕松）用一口德味英語：‘嘿，歡迎來到沃爾夫岡兵工廠！別哭了，伙計們，你們的戰爭已經結束了。’……”

“The Krauts picked us Jews and Russkies out of the captive line like they were sorting bad apples， their eyes cold as ice. Old Pete was gone， Semyon too， and there wasn't a fucking moment to feel sorry 'bout 'em. We， the leftovers， were shoved into those rusty train boxcars like cattle.

Inside those fucking boxcars， man， it was a stinkin' mess! Sweat， mold， and the smell of open wounds mixed together like a bad batch of moonshine. The train shook and rattled， and we were jammed in there like sardines in a can， hardly able to draw a breath. What the fuck were we gonna do?

Lucky for me， I was near the door where a crack let in a little moonlight. Looking through that crack， I thought of the warm glow of the porch light back at the farm in Missouri. Mom's homemade apple pie， Dad's whiskey still， and chasing sunsets across the fields as a kid... Shit， that felt like a lifetime ago.

The train stopped， and word got around that we weren't in Auschwitz， thank God， but some Czech place instead. The doors flew open， and the sun hit us like a freight train. A pack of Jerries descended on us， beating and kicking us like we were nothin'. Half-dead， we stumbled out. I caught a punch from a kid who looked barely old enough to shave， but he sure packed a wallop.

And then， this little gal showed up， a squirt gun in her hand， spraying water all over. The Jerries backed off， not wanting to get wet. We thought she was mocking us at first， but when that water hit our lips， I swear， it was the sweetest nectar I'd ever tasted.

The Jerries counted us off， and it was clear many hadn't made the trip. This girl， Bianca， she stayed behind， helping a Limey who'd been shot up in Noroy or wherever. His leg was a fuckin' mess， infected， feverish， stinking like a dead dog. One Jerry raised his rifle to put him out of his misery， but Bianca stepped in， an angel in disguise.

Dressed like the rest of the Jerries， but there was somethin' about her that drew us in. We learned her name later. Bianca， she stood by the factory gate， out of place among those devilish soldiers. But she was different， her smile bright as the sun， prettier than any Madonna picture in the church.

As I walked past her， I caught a whiff of lilacs and tulips， remindin' me of the wildflowers back home. What the fuck was I doing here? When you're not sure if you'll see tomorrow， you get soft. Maybe she saw me wiping away a tear， and as we passed， she said to me， with a touch of that German accent，'Hey， Guys! Welcome to die Wolfgang Waffenfabrik! Don't cry， die war for you all is over.'“

——節選自《地獄中的天堂島：盟軍戰俘回憶錄》，作者：今天也要不做人