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Joseph Gringlas - January 14, 1993

United Nations.

United, yeah and they helped-they, get to the, get-send us, getus stand up by our feet. But I was in kibbutz there. And kibbutz was eh, Iwas there a few months in kibbutz, organizing the kibbutz. And they, they,they asked who volunteered to go back to the border, which I was going toCzechoslovakia coming to Germany to kibbutz, to get people, bring them fromone place to the other, from Czechoslovakia to Germany. They were came fromPoland they came all over. And I, I volunteered in the kibbutz to go backand worked in, on the border, it's called Beriha. And eh, there was, walkingthrough the woods and be...and there was a place was named Selb, there wason German side on the border. And I think it was As. It was the other side,Czechoslovakia. ??? As. And that, we were living in, we were in a, that grouporganized for that volunteer for that border, we were in, in the Czechoslovakianside. And every-in the middle of the night, we had to go about three o'clock,we organized the people that want to go through. And I-it was a group going,a long group, one was in front and I was in back and going through the woodsand we're going to-in-going to the border to Germany-border. And came in themorning German border-the train, waiting for the train to take them wherethey're going in land. So the train came in and I jumped on the train in frontand it was taking German people were waiting to go in on the train. And Isaid, I said in German, "Keine nicht eintreten bis unsere Leuten alle sindin." Don't go in on the train until our people are in. They knew our peoplewere Jewish people. They were afra...the Germans were afraid at that time,after the war. They listened-until our people were sitting down, then theycame in. So they and they were going, I had a good feeling you know, you know,that I tell them that you go-our people has to go in first and you going togo behind them when you have room. Anyway they-our people went back throughthe, on the lan...land in Germany. I went back to Czechoslovakia with a fewboys begging for. One night we got trouble, going to the border to Czechoslovakiansaw eh, the, the guards, the Czechoslovakian guards saw us and they, they-shootingin the sky. So shoot- stopped the whole transport. And they took us from theborder back to the military there. Military unit, the Czechoslovakian. Theysay smelinar. Smelinar mean that people black market, you know trying to moveback and forth that borders. You know one recognized me from seeing me aroundthat place and he said, "You are the leader from the-and he hit me right inthe face. But that-and then all the people had to take out dollars and everythingwhat they had. There was a lot of. We were, we were organized not to makeany black market, we organized people going to, going to border because theygoing to Israel, because I was volunteering for this job. But there was alot of people going with the group that had black market, going back and forth.So they had, they had to take everything out, leaving there that uh, that-atthat guard point. And they let them go. But they, they didn't do any harmto us. But I was hit because he said you must be one of the leaders-taking.And we coming back, then after a few months staying there work...working deepsnow to boots at winter time, I got sick, in kibbutz. And then they, theysent some other two boys from the kibbutz after they-to relieve us, we wentback. So I was sick in that place, sick at the kibbutz. And then we startedgetting close at Aliya Bet. So the-they were coming at night- even they wokeus up, we have to go, leave the kibbutz. And we're going to Ita...Italy, togoing load on the ship, going to Palestine. There was no Israel at that timeyet.

No, right.

So I-they put, they put me on the, in the one which volunteered.I was doing something for the kibbutz, they put me on first to go on that,first people to go from the group to go to Israel. So I said, "Listen, I'vegot my brother here," and my brother had already had, he was married alreadyin kibbutz, "and I want to be together. We're the only two."