The first village we visited on our trip to Galicia last week was
Zalosce, where my grandfather and his siblings were born.
We spoke with a few older people and asked one woman about
people she knew before the war, No Pickholz, to no one's surprise.
No Klahr either. But she knew a Wachs who had a store where he
sold candy and soda. Also a Kwoczka who had a store selling
fabrics.
The woman made a point of mentioning Blumenstein, Katz, Auerbach,
Friedman, and a Dr. Shorer who lived near the post office.
We did not go to Podkamen.
The strange thing was that the whole area of Galicia reminded me
of Western Pennsylvania and I felt that as my GGF went from
Baltimore to Pittsburgh for the first time, he must have felt very
much at home. At one point we came to a four-lane divided
highway and it was made of white sectioned concrete - like
when you cross from the Ohio turnpike into the PA turnpike.
We went to the site of the cemetery which is no longer in existence,
but the land is kept empty and well maintained. Not fenced, though
there are a few broken and illegible tombstones. But it was this
sloping hill, going up from the road, deeper than it was wide.
It made me think of what Machzikei Hadas cemetery would look like were
the graves replaced by grass.