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Joseph Gringlas - January 22, 1993

You never found out what happened.

Never. I-we sent uh, during the war even. I-after-when was it,I mean I sent, we sent to Red Cross to find out about him. Didn't get any-nothing.

Any other last recollections of your family life, w...up tothe time that you were all separated?

Recollection. Eh, uh, my other brother, he was a tailor, Schloimo.And he uh, mostly I remember for, for Pesach special, he made suits. So, youknow and so we just, it was a good feeling that my brother's making a suitfor myself, you know and. I always liked to be dressed up nice and. That mademe feel that it would be good, that I made a spec...like good at make a specialorder or something. And, and we and I remember eh, my, my, my, my father,I remember he was dressed up always very neat and my-when, when we used togo out my older, Mendel, my oldest brother they looked like brothers. My fatherkept himself very young like-young looking. And that we talking about theother, the tailor, even got married before the war. And uh, and he was sentout when they sent all the Jews away. He was sent away because he was workingstill, he still buy, somebody tailoring. So he-like I did, when I was young,I was trying to get work in like a factory, there was something holding onor something then the Germans wouldn't send me regular away. But my olderbrother...which the Germans, like, like you said, those were used for Germanswhat made in like ammunition or metal or something they-just what they need.And that my other brother they worked like tailor or any other things. Theywere taken right away at the Umsiedeln.

Same time...

Same time, yeah.

as your parents.

But I told you about, about my par...I mean after the Aussiedlungwas over and my, eh and we were in the factory and then this-we couldn't stayin the factory, there was no place to stay. So they give us uh, like a streetwe staying and when we came there, a few days after we went there, I wouldhear that somebody saw my father, my sis...my d...uh, sister, my mother washiding. They didn't go out they-that Sunday which all the Jews supposed togo out. But they went, sent away, after the few days they were sent away,so I didn't see them. Somebody told me they, a few hours before we came tothat street in that little ghetto where they made for the people working onthe factory, that somebody saw them. They were sent away.

So they were among the last to go?

Yeah, they, they, they-it was like they were hidden about a fewdays, about three or four days.

You think they hid in their house? Is that what...

Probably. But uh, didn't have no chance there to go out.

Now let me jump ahead.

Ok.

You, you were put on a train to Auschwitz.

From, from Blizyn.

From Blizyn...

Yeah.

to Auschwitz.

Birkenau.

Um, and you, you said you traveled h...h...hours on the train,in the box car.

Yeah.