Stephen Shooster After the war, I was able to spend some time with the Mol brothers. They witnessed the grotesque episode that followed the arrival of the trucks. At 9 AM, Zimny Mroz and the Gestapo arrived with a few trucks full of the feeblest Jewish townspeople. Shouting started to get the people out of the trucks. Then we heard the Nazis order the people, “Take your clothes off.” Since these were decent people, an order like this could only mean one thing. The scene soon turned horrific. Some had to be dragged. One ran but was caught and brought back. Children would not let go of their parents. People were screaming and resisting in whatever way they could. The Gestapo shot every one of these defenseless people. Most were placed at the edge of the ditch before the lethal weapons were unleashed. Then afterward, your father’s brother, Izrael, with the fellow that was staying at your home, Mr. Goldfinger, was selected to complete the burial. They worked for a long while covering the remains as best they could. When they were done, they were added to the pile. Throughout the day there was lots of shooting followed by silence and some talk of celebration. Towards the end of the day, the Germans and Zimney Mroz were congratulating themselves. When I heard this story, my heart sank, and I was numb. In questioning the brothers, I learned this is also where the Blauner’s lost their father. The rest of the town’s Jews, about 1,500 people of all ages, walked to Nowy-Sacz oblivious to the plight of others, and entered the ghetto. Among them were my fa- ther and mother with five young children. My father, ever the horseman, put them on the cart for the horse to pull. Also among the shunned and unwanted were the despised Jewish policeman, Reinkraut, and the Eisen’s son. None of the people from Grybow remained in Nowy-Sacz for long. Soon after their arrival, most of them, my family included, were deported to Belzec, where they perished in the gas chambers. I did, see my father one more time, but by then all hope was lost. I learned what happened to my mother and young brothers and sisters from a locomotive engineer. He said, “All the Jews from Grybow who were deported went to Nowy-Sacz and were divided into three transports soon after their arrival. They became part of 12,000 - 15,000 people who were sent to Belzec.” Once there, six gas chambers worked 24 hours a day to destroy all of them. We know they were exterminated because there were no barracks at Belzec. Belzec was not a concentration camp; it was strictly an extermination center. The victims sat in a field where they were forced to wait for their turns in the gas chamber, and then the bodies were thrown into mass graves. Belzec was a killing factory. I went back to work with the road crew in Zbyszyce, and the foreman, again, sent
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