Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Joseph Gringlas - January 14 & 22, March 18, 1993

Is this Sol?

This is my, this was my brother.

Your oldest brother.

No, no--all the, he was not old--the middle.

Mendel?

He was Yakov.

Yakov.

Yeah. So.

And did he die in the war?

He--but the funny thing after the Warsaw was--I mean, was eh, the Poland--Warsaw was--capitulate. We hear that some boys coming home from my hometown, they saw him getting away from the front. We never see him. We don't know what happened.

He died in the war then.

So.

In the fighting.

He, no, he, he, I was, we were told that, boys came home that was in unit with him that uh, ??? was ne...near Warsaw, that he was front finished, there was, but he was still alive after the, the, the, the fight. But never came back. We don't know what happened.

And, and this is your sister?

Yeah, this is the only sister I had in family.

And what and this?

This, this is my brother. Schloimo. He was married to her.

And this?

Okay, those, this is my, my early parents. Eh, those pictures I got because I went to Toronto and I knew my, my, my brother made one--his wife, my sister-in-law has family in, in Toronto. So after the war I had a fam...I have a feeling I'm going to find something. But I knew the name, but I didn't, didn't know what's going on, they live in Toronto, can you imagine. But I remember as a kid they would, I was told they, they worked at, the--at business in food, food market. So I we--came, after war when I came to United States, I went to Toronto and I ask about that name and they told me, "There he is! He's got a business at food market." You know, but he took me home. And I found picture, my bro...because this was the wedding. She sent to Canada, as she had sisters there. They were supposed to go to Canada before the war, but never could make it up there because the war broke out. So I was so happ...glad to find pictures from my sister and brother. Now this, my brother and soldier Yakov eh, a cousin in Toronto lived, after the war. He left just uh, '38, before the war broke out in Poland. So he lived in--cousin lived there in Toronto. He had a picture, a little picture in that. So th...I was so happy when they came, I got pictures from my fam...somebody to--that I had family.