I didn’t see the train leaving town with the condemned Jews of Skala. What I did find was a scene of devastation.

I don’t know what Tateh did to draw Engel’s menacing attention but I saw the fearsome tyrant stride up to my father, demanding to see his work papers.

Feivel said the Jews of Skala had been sent to a place called Belzec. Nobody came out of Belzec, he said

Hundreds of ghetto residents were herded across town to the cemetery, where they were gunned down into open pits.

From grandmother’s apartment, I collected table cloths, candlesticks, her dishes and flatware. I took the seder plate. I made piles of clothing,

Nikolai pulled the wagon to a stop at the ghetto checkpoint. A guard with a clipboard gave a cursory glance, seeing just a delivery man and peasant boy, his son.

As the groups were being readied, an Army staff car rolled up and several officers and managers from the Liegenschaft emerged to consult with the Gestapo officers.

After that, there was a renewed frenzy of bunker building in the ghetto. Every basement and attic was a hideout.