Munyo Gruber
Encyclopedia
Samuel Gruber né Munyo Gruber (born 1913) was born in Podhajce, Poland
(now Pidhaitsi
, Ukraine
). As a youth, Gruber belonged to the Zionist
organizations Ha-Shomer ha-Tza'ir and He-halutz. When he was 14, Gruber went to Lwów, Poland (now Lviv, Ukraine) to attend high school. After graduation, Gruber remained in Lwów for about two years. He then returned to Podhajce where he worked as a bookkeeper for a company that manufactured farm equipment and bicycles.
Though very few Jews served in the Polish Army, Gruber was drafted when he was 18 or 19. He served for a year and a half in Tarnopol, Ukraine. Two or three weeks before the war broke out in 1939, Samuel was called into the reserves
. While training in Nowy Sącz
, Poland, Gruber's unit was unaware that the German forces had penetrated deep into Poland. The Germans surrounded Samuel's unit and fighting broke out. Samuel was shot in the arm and taken as a prisoner of war
.
After a month in the hospital, Gruber and the other prisoners were transported to Stalag 13, a camp in Langwasser
, Germany
, near Nuremberg
. On the second day, Jews were ordered to present themselves. Gruber hesitated, but two of his Polish "friends" shoved him forwards saying, "Here is a Jew." The prisoners were transported from Nuremberg to Ludwigsburg
and then to Munzinger
, Germany. Because of his injured arm, Gruber was assigned to work in the kitchen. Gruber spoke fluent German
, so he also helped out in the German offices.
In 1941, Gruber and the other prisoners were transported to Gleiwitz (Gliwice), Poland and then to Lipowa Seven, a camp in Lublin
, Poland. There, Gruber was forced to help build the Majdanek
camp. Later that year, Soviet prisoners of war became the first inmates. Gruber recalled that the Soviets were treated horribly. A typhus
epidemic broke out and Gruber, along with 400 others, was quarantined in a synagogue
. A doctor with whom Gruber was acquainted gave him a shot that saved his life. Three hundred people died during the typhus outbreak.
Gruber was assigned to work in an office of a hospital that distributed uniforms, rifles and pistols to German soldiers coming from the front. He was able to steal weapons, which were eventually sold to partisans. A Polish man advised Gruber to escape because eventually everyone in the camps would be killed. On October 28, 1942, Gruber walked through Lublin to the forest on the outskirts of town. Two partisans met Gruber and 22 other people, whom he had convinced to leave with him. Gruber was the leader of his partisan group. He changed his first name to Mietek, a typical Polish name, so that the Polish farmers would not know that he was Jewish.
The partisans burnt villages and fought the Germans. Gruber was liberated when the Soviets captured Lublin in 1944. He married in 1945. In 1946, Gruber left Poland. He was made head of a displaced persons camp for children at Prien am Chiemsee
, Germany in 1947. Gruber immigrated to the United States
in 1949.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(now Pidhaitsi
Pidhaitsi
Pidhaitsi is a small city in the Ternopil Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Pidhaitsi Raion , and is located at around . Pidhaitsi is situated ca. 15.5 mi south of Berezhany, 43.5 mi from Ternopil and ca. 62 mi south-east of Lviv. In 1939...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
). As a youth, Gruber belonged to the Zionist
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
organizations Ha-Shomer ha-Tza'ir and He-halutz. When he was 14, Gruber went to Lwów, Poland (now Lviv, Ukraine) to attend high school. After graduation, Gruber remained in Lwów for about two years. He then returned to Podhajce where he worked as a bookkeeper for a company that manufactured farm equipment and bicycles.
Though very few Jews served in the Polish Army, Gruber was drafted when he was 18 or 19. He served for a year and a half in Tarnopol, Ukraine. Two or three weeks before the war broke out in 1939, Samuel was called into the reserves
Military reserve force
A military reserve force is a military organization composed of citizens of a country who combine a military role or career with a civilian career. They are not normally kept under arms and their main role is to be available to fight when a nation mobilizes for total war or to defend against invasion...
. While training in Nowy Sącz
Nowy Sacz
Nowy Sącz is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County, but is not included within the powiat.-Names:...
, Poland, Gruber's unit was unaware that the German forces had penetrated deep into Poland. The Germans surrounded Samuel's unit and fighting broke out. Samuel was shot in the arm and taken as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
.
After a month in the hospital, Gruber and the other prisoners were transported to Stalag 13, a camp in Langwasser
Langwasser
Langwasser is a district of Nuremberg in the southeastern area of the city. It was developed as a prototype of the satellite town concept in the 1960s and is primarily a suburban residential area...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, near Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
. On the second day, Jews were ordered to present themselves. Gruber hesitated, but two of his Polish "friends" shoved him forwards saying, "Here is a Jew." The prisoners were transported from Nuremberg to Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg urban district with about 87,000 inhabitants...
and then to Munzinger
Munzinger
Munzinger may refer to:* Josef Munzinger , Member of the Swiss Federal Council* Werner Munzinger , Swiss adventurer...
, Germany. Because of his injured arm, Gruber was assigned to work in the kitchen. Gruber spoke fluent German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, so he also helped out in the German offices.
In 1941, Gruber and the other prisoners were transported to Gleiwitz (Gliwice), Poland and then to Lipowa Seven, a camp in Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
, Poland. There, Gruber was forced to help build the Majdanek
Majdanek
Majdanek was a German Nazi concentration camp on the outskirts of Lublin, Poland, established during the German Nazi occupation of Poland. The camp operated from October 1, 1941 until July 22, 1944, when it was captured nearly intact by the advancing Soviet Red Army...
camp. Later that year, Soviet prisoners of war became the first inmates. Gruber recalled that the Soviets were treated horribly. A typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
epidemic broke out and Gruber, along with 400 others, was quarantined in a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
. A doctor with whom Gruber was acquainted gave him a shot that saved his life. Three hundred people died during the typhus outbreak.
Gruber was assigned to work in an office of a hospital that distributed uniforms, rifles and pistols to German soldiers coming from the front. He was able to steal weapons, which were eventually sold to partisans. A Polish man advised Gruber to escape because eventually everyone in the camps would be killed. On October 28, 1942, Gruber walked through Lublin to the forest on the outskirts of town. Two partisans met Gruber and 22 other people, whom he had convinced to leave with him. Gruber was the leader of his partisan group. He changed his first name to Mietek, a typical Polish name, so that the Polish farmers would not know that he was Jewish.
The partisans burnt villages and fought the Germans. Gruber was liberated when the Soviets captured Lublin in 1944. He married in 1945. In 1946, Gruber left Poland. He was made head of a displaced persons camp for children at Prien am Chiemsee
Prien am Chiemsee
Prien am Chiemsee is a municipality in the district of Rosenheim, in Bavaria, Germany.-Geography:It is situated on the western shore of the Chiemsee lake, 16 km east of Rosenheim.-Famous resident:...
, Germany in 1947. Gruber immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1949.
External links
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Samuel Gruber