Stephen Shooster The war was over before Leon’s father found his unit. He returned and brought the family home; that is when the Tyrolean’s arrived. The festive arrival of the troops was misleading. These ordinary soldiers stayed about a month before moving east toward Russia. Their replacements were the dreaded Nazi SS and the feared Gestapo (secret police). The nature of the new regime was soon apparent. The synagogue became a horse stable, and an open ghetto was established for the Jews. The movement was restricted of the Jews to one kilometer within a designated area. They were further restricted to walk only on approved streets. White armbands bearing a blue Star of David symbol were required at all times. All of the businesses owned by Jews were confiscated. Leon could no longer attend the public school, and as his 13th birthday approached, prepa- ration for a Bar Mitzvah was forbidden. Beatings, humiliations, and shootings became an ordinary part of daily life. When it was over, his family would be destroyed, along with most of his community. The entire region of Galicia would become virtually Judenfrei (without Jews). In near- by Auschwitz, 1.1 million would be killed. In another less known camp called Belzec, another 600,000 were killed. It was at this camp where Leon’s family was murdered. When the fog of war cleared, 6 million Jews were dead. If the Nazis won the war, Jews worldwide were threatened with complete annihilation. For the first time, this young boy saw adults whom he respected, his own teachers among them, shot dead in the street. Anyone who resisted the Nazi regime in the slightest was a target. The atmosphere became thick with fear. Life and death decisions were made on the spot. Everything became a matter of luck – one lived or died at the whim of men whose motives could not be understood. The Nazis did their killing under within German State law. The murders of Jews were State- sanctioned. Why these men killed with such ferocity was so far beyond the experience of any of their victims that an effective reaction was impossible. Murderers took all the power of the State and used it with ruthless efficiency. The world had gone mad. Under this stress, the ordinary bonds of community broke down. The institutions of government, schools, temples, and the day-to-day connections of businesses, including the shops, markets, and the places people gathered for entertainment and work, shat- tered. The familiar became a threat. Neighbors became enemies. The trust implicit in all the usual activities of daily life dissolved, replaced by fear. The simple act of walking down the street required courage. Food was scarce. Laws were nailed to posts for all to read. The Polish people were forbidden to help the Jews under the penalty of death. Life before the war was by comparison idyllic. Every Monday was market day at the
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