Stephen Shooster looked at me as if I had touched the devil. Nothing needed to be said. I put my blood- stained cap back on. We were all in a state of horror and shock. Late in the morning, we were released to begin the cleanup. Kastura and Grunov were assigned to direct about 200 of us. All-in-all about 600 Jews remained to clean up the ghetto. All they said as we started to leave was, “You will work in pairs.” This terrible day was still just beginning. People were still hiding. To finish the cleanup, four companies of SS kommandos entered the marketplace. One came with dogs, another with dynamite, a 3rd with a flamethrower, and a 4th with machine guns. First, they entered ghetto A. I heard lots of shooting, but I could not see what was going on. Then, I caught a glimpse of my cousin’s sweet wife, the one who worked at Madricz. She stepped out of the shadows with her two children. Then my other cousin also came forward with her child. Our eyes met for a moment. The image is fixed in my mind forever. I could not say or do anything. A guard took them to a wall where shots fired. They crumpled The liquidation of the Tarnow ghetto was started on Thursday, but it wasn’t until three long despicable days later, on Sunday, that it was over. After the main population was removed, the Gestapo methodically started to sweep building by building to mak- ing sure the ghetto was empty. If they found anyone alive, they were instantly killed. The majestic Jewish temple was dynamited. All that stands today are the bones, the central columns. I was directed to take my horse and wagon to ghetto A. As soon as I turned the cor- ner, I saw the bodies stacked in two areas. One of them was resting against the syna- gogue, blood marking the wall and the ground. Moshe Blauner and I looked at each other and this eerie site. After a brief pause, we both spoke, “This will be the end of us.” Kastura broke our fixation, “Pick up those bodies.” That is when I saw the remains of my dear cousin with her children. I told Moshe Blauner, “Let’s pick them up first.” Grunov came over to us and said, “Take a sheet and cover the bodies.” He was drinking whiskey. The sight must have sickened him, too. He took a drink and said, “Come here, fellows, I want you each to take a pull of this whiskey.” With the whiskey fortifying us we proceeded to go to work picking up the bodies. No amount of liquor could make this situation better. Once the wagon was filled, we brought our grisly load about 1 kilometer to the cem- etery. We dropped the bodies into mass graves and then returned for more. On the way to the cemetery, I saw some of the townspeople peeking through the curtains of their homes. They were powerless to help. All the Jews were gone. My chances of survival
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