Page 468 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo II

1108 XXXIX Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

soldiers, having overtaken a column of refugees: “Having forgotten about responsibil-
ity and honor and the German subdivisions that were retreating without a fight, [they,
kb] flung themselves in the thousands on women and girls. Women, mothers and their
daughters, lay to the left and right of the highway and before each of them stood a chor-
tling armada of muzhiki [men, kb] with their pants pulled down. Those covered with
blood and losing consciousness were shoved aside, and the children throwing them-
selves to help were shot. Guffaws, snarling, laughter, cries and groans. Their command-
ers, their majors and colonels stood on the highway, and some laughed while others
directed or, more precisely, regulated. This was in order that all their soldiers without
exception participated. No, this was not collective responsibility, [nor, kb] at all revenge
on the cursed occupiers. This was hellish, fatal group sex. The all-permissiveness, the
impunity, anonymity, and cruel logic of a maddened crowd. Shaken, I sat in the cabin
of the truck, my driver Demidov stodd in line, […] I understood that war cannot justify
everything. A colonel, the one who had just been directing, can’t restrain himself and
gets in line too, while a major shoots the children and old men who are witnessing this
in hysterics.”
Later on he describes a situation, where he presents himself as being forced to take
part in the raping: When he arrives at a place where German women gathered he is ad-
vised to choose a woman. He hesitates to do so because: „I am ashamed of two things:
What I plan to do and [secondly, kb] in front of my men I am ashamed that they could
think I am a coward, even impotent. […Then, kb] I point to one [woman, kb] whose face
is covered with a scarf. […] She stands up and comes into my direction, and says: ‘Mis-
ter commander, one. Not two. One.’ And she takes my hand, leads me into the empty
neighboring room. She speaks tenderly and urging: ‘One, one.’ In the doors stands my
new ordinarius Urmin and speaks: ‘Come on, faster, lieutenant, I will be after you.’ She
somehow understands, what he says, makes a sharp step forward. She presses herself
against my body, and [says] nervously: ‘Not two.’ And uncovers her face. My goodness.
A young one, like a ray of light. […] ‘Close the door and get away from here’ I com-
mand Urmin.“ 29
What follows is a description of mutual tenderness and commitment, of her beauty
and his falling in love. He utters intentions to marry her and is surprised that she has fled
the other day. Thus, we can be sure that despite all his aspirations also the young woman
experienced the whole situation as violence and as an involuntary intercourse, even if
she indeed tries to avoid the accompanying brutality by pleading Rabichev to be the one
and only. He, however, beliefs (or wants the reader to belief) that he is not part of the
all-encompassing violence in this particular situation that forces the women to act in
the way she does. He mistakes (or presents deliberately) the woman’s efforts to protect
herself as an utterance of aggreement or even as a statement of being attracted by him.
Thus, he applies to some extent the same strategies as Yakushin does. While the cavalry
man confirms atrocities but wants his readers to believe that he did not know anything
about sexual violence by his men, that is was due to the women when sexual intercourse

29 Rabichev, Leonid : Voyna vse spishet. Neskolko fragmentov iz knigi vospominaniy o voyne, [War writes off
everything. Some fragments from memoires about the war], in: Znamja No. 2, 2005, 142–166,165f.