The Horse Adjutant I was taken from the road works with the rest of the Jews even though I still was not wearing an armband. We languished for a few days until the Gestapo loaded us onto a train. Expecting to go to Tarnow ghetto, instead, we went to the Tarnow prison. I later heard that the reason we were in that prison instead of going directly to the Tarnow ghetto was that the Nazis were trying to use us as hostages for money. So, as we waited, our fate was parlayed by the Nazis with the Judenrat of Tarnow. With so little cash and other resources to draw from, it was hopeless. I met the leaders of the Judenrat. They were told, “The prisoners will be executed if we don’t get the money.” I don’t know how it was resolved, but eventually, we were released, and finally brought under guard to Tarnow ghetto. My ordeal was just beginning. Standing in front of the ghetto we were formed into lines. Ahead of me was a selection committee. When I reached the front of the line, I was asked, “What is your profession?” I told them, “I was helping to build a road.” They sent me to ghetto A (Arbeit Loss), the unemployed ghetto. Once inside, I learned my cousins Roman and Usher Flink were also in the ghetto with their kids. A few days later, I found them, and they took me in. One was on her way to work in ghetto B (Besheftig), The workers ghetto. My cousins lived in Tarnow before the occupation. Their home was inside of the ghetto. I was glad to see them, especially in these circumstances, and thankful to still have some family I could rely upon. I was in a terrible state of mind. By this time, I thought my family was gone, and I was now alone in the world. I was despondent, but I had little time for pity if I was going to survive. My stomach growled, and I still need- ed some kind of work to do. I had not yet found the stables, Moshe, Sol, or Maciek. I walked around aimlessly. I found myself looking into the faces of people. We were all suffering. I concentrated on finding some kind of work to do. To find a job, I need- ed to find a friend or make some friends quickly. No one wanted me. It was not going to be easy. I was sickened by the noises and the smells and tormented with images of my family and friends whenever I laid down to close my eyes. I tossed and turned as I heard the Nazis celebrating outside the ghetto walls. At some point I stopped wallow- ing in my misery, and found the words of my father, “You will live longer than all of us.” With little hope for myself, I could not help thinking I would soon see my family in the afterlife. Regardless of thinking these terrible thoughts, I acted as a survivor and planned on what to do in order to live. I never gave up hope. I did everything to plan on living. I just had to hang on. I said to myself, “If you are going to survive you will need to stay busy working.”
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