Leon Salomon - June 18, 1990
Brother's Burial
You mean you exhumed the body?
Yes. I exhumed the body yes.
With your sisters?
Yeah.
What do you remember about that? Was it nighttime, daytime?
No, no this was daytime. I mean, we were allowed to do that. This was, we talked in the beginning of the war of 41, we're talking 1941, June.
This was your decision to do? On your own, did you discuss it with your sisters or anybody else?
No. In fact, other people, the remainder of the thirteen people who were not Jewish, they also took out the bodies and it was all to do. They did let us do it, yes.
You were what, 14?
I was 14 years old, yes, at that time, 14 or 15.
Had you had any such experiences before?
No.
What did you feel like?
This was my first experience to see a dead body, let alone my brother who was, he was a father, a mother, he was in charge of the household. A guy who hasn't done anything to, except his involvement was nothing but education. So, we knew right then the future is not exactly secure.
Did you say Kaddish for him?
Yes.
Do you remember the day?
I don't remember the exact date, however, I do have a book where it's listed the first written, it's written a book about Kobylnik. It's written in Yiddish and I believe they have the dates of those people being killed. But I know it was June, or beginning of July, because June the 22nd I believe, that's when the war broke out between USSR and Germany and I think this took place a couple of weeks afterwards.
© Board of Regents University of Michigan-Dearborn