Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

• Contents
• Map
• Video

Jack Gun - August 12, 1999

So you were betrayed, basically.

Right. Betrayed, but like I said before, it was my brother's fault. But he was a young kid himself and he used to, had confidence in people.

What happened?

So what happened, he went, he went with this farmer, went back with the horse and sleigh with my brother to Osawa. And he came to Yerushka and Yerushka saw that, he got--naturally he felt, he, he told Yerushka exactly what happened. So Yerushka, being the saint he was, he gave him whatever they asked for. And he came back to Primas' house and the sheriff told my brother, he says, "Now you had a good lesson." He says, "From now on, he says, you don't talk to anybody, you don't tell them where you are, you don't tell them what you got." He says, "I realize you're a young boy, he says, but now, from now on, if you want to survive, he says, keep your mouth zipped." And he told Primas, he says, "I want you to know that I will not tell anybody about this incident. I will not tell them that you are keeping two Jewish boys. And they are safe with you now as they were before." And they said goodbye and they left.

And the other farmer? He was satisfied.

Yeah, he got his stuff. Whatever they needed--wanted and they left. And uh, naturally we were afraid. My brother thought for sure that Primas would tell us to hit the road. And Primas got yet nicer than he was before, if it could be. He says, "You know," he says, "I'm going to keep you. I'm not afraid." And his wife was very much against it. She says, "I have two little girls, I cannot take chance like that." He said, "You do as I say." He says, "You don't like it, you leave." Where do you find people like that? I mean, this was a...

Has he been designated a, a righteous Gentile?

He wasn't. I never found him.

After the war you didn't find him.

I'll tell you that later.

Okay.

And he says, "You know what else?" He says, "I'm going to tell Mr. Yerushka that I don't want anything else from him for keeping you." He says, "Because I also realize that Mr. Yerushka must be running out of merchandise." He says, "No matter how much your dad gave." He says, "I don't want anything from him for the rest of the time that I keep you." Uh, and uh, a few months after that, we were liberated. This was a prod...we were liberated in March of '44. One day we were in a barn or in a, or in a cellar, his wife came running and he says, "Hey guys, come on out, Russian soldiers are all around the village." He says, "The Germans are gone."

Had you heard any war news up to that point?

Nothing.

Nothing. Not even about Stalingrad?

Nothing. Nothing. Didn't know anything about. We were just like in the dark. We were in the dark. My brother tells me the first thing he did was when he saw Russian soldier, he kissed their feet. That's how happy he was to see them. And what did I do, you ask me? Nothing. Just uh, went along with the flow. Just existed and did everything I was uh, told to do.