Harry Praw - June 30, 1982
Life in Jaslo
Other Jews did this?
The Jewish from that particular--that was already a different part of Poland. Galicia was what they called the protectorate. It wasn't, it wasn't anymore the German Reich. And there--the laws there were not as strict as in Łódź. The Jews could move freely, there was no curfew.
I see. That's fine. Mm-hm.
There was no curfew. So we were put in the--at that time there was no more synagogue so they made room for the, for the refugees. They put in the ??? and straw just so we have a place to sleep, so we don't sleep on the bare floors. And then tried to more or less the locate the refugees, the only type of people from the city into different homes, wherever they could. They did all the could for about a year or so.
Oh, so you stayed in that town for a year?
Near for about a year.
Were you there with your whole family at that point?
Yeah, yeah.
Mm-hm. Did you ever, did you ever think that you would get out of this? Did you ever think of escaping at that time?
Well, there was no reason to escape because there was in this particular town there was nothing that we should be afraid of. There was nothing to worry about.
I see, I see.
The Jews there...
They provided everything for you?
Yeah, yeah. At least they fed us. And then uh, the Jews had to go to work there, otherwise the Germans called into the Jewish community--they said they needed so many Jews and they provided the Jews for work. They worked on different work details whether it was roads...
I see.
...building roads, loading cars, unloading trains, stuff like that.
Did you and your brothers or father have to do any of that?
No, mainly the teenagers. Just the kids.
I see.
Eh, they didn't, they didn't treat us--the Jews--we weren't treated bad at all. I mean, as long as we went to work and minded our own business everything was all right. They did grab a few Jews. They always made apology of taking the Jewish socialite to get rid of him. That was their main thing. They were always afraid that the brain--the Jewish brain would always come up with something. This was the first--Jewish lawyer, Jewish doctor, they always find a way to get rid of them. But we went to work and they paid us, I mean, the Jewish community paid us...
I see.
...like a dollar, two dollars a day but, but they paid for--we got paid for the work and this was in 1942.
Would you say that...
No, this was in--between 1939...
And 1940.
...about 1940, I would say about 1940.
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