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Educational Resources :: Single-Witness Programs
8025 Leon S., Edited Testimony
A Jew from Poland tells his story with painful deliberation. He describes
the liquidation of the Jews of his town, during which he witnesses the
murder of this grandmother, and his experiences in the concentration and
slave labor camps of Plaszow, Skarzysko-Kamienna, Buchenwald and Theresienstadt.
Mr. S. relates that he became religious in the camps and still uses the
tefillin and prayer book he removed from the huge piles of religious objects
which he found in Terezin after he was liberated. He is grateful that
he was able to retain his faith and humanity in spite of all that he suffered
and witnessed. 40 minutes.
8035 Helen K., Edited Testimony
A survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, Majdanek and Auschwitz relates her wartime
experiences and describes her postwar reunion with her husband, whom she
had married in the ghetto at the age of 16. She emphasizes her determination
to survive as an act of defiance against Hitler, a decision she reached
when her younger brother died in her arms in the cattle car en route to
Majdanek. The theme of resistance, both passive and active, recurs throughout
her testimony. Mrs. K. concludes on a pessimistic note, wondering whether
"it was worth it" in view of the continuing suffering and inhumanity
in the world. 30 minutes.
8039 Edith P., Edited Testimony
A survivor from eastern Czechoslovakia relates her wartime experiences
in an emotionally powerful and unusually poetic way. She tells of her
family's evacuation to a brick factory, their train journey to Auschwitz
and their separation upon arrival. She describes her life in Auschwitz
and later in Salzwedel, where she worked as a cook for the SS. Mrs. P.
recounts the joy of liberation by American soldiers and concludes by expressing
her distress at her own, and the world's complacency while suffering and
inhumanity continue. 30 minutes. Excerpts
from this testimony are available online.
8041 Paul D., Edited Testimony
Illustrating his recollections with photographs, a child survivor from
Hummene, Slovakia describes an early childhood full of love and warmth
in spite of the death of his father when he was three years old. With
evident pride in his own resourcefulness and that of the adults who cared
for him, he relates his wartime experiences of flight, hiding, and living
"on the Aryan side" in the manner of an adventure story, though
it is told against the backdrop of the disappearances and deaths of family
members - grandfather, favorite cousin, beloved stepfather - until only
he and his mother remain. During a recent period of despondency, overcome
by the feeling that many people from his childhood live only in his memory,
Mr. D. told his son about these people. He is now confident that will
live in his son's memory as well. Some profanity. 33 minutes.
8047 Renee H., Edited Testimony
From the point of view of the child that she was at the time, a survivor
of Bergen-Belsen from Bratislava, Slovakia relates her wartime experiences.
She tells how, in German occupied Bratislava, she served as the "ears"
of her deaf parents and younger sister, alerting them to impending roundups
of Jews. She speaks of her vain attempts to find shelter for her sister
and herself after the deportation of her parents and her voluntary surrender
to the police in the hopes of being reunited with her parents in Auschwitz.
She describes the life that she and her sister led in Bergen-Belsen, where,
to her dismay, the train had taken them instead, and where they remained
until their liberation. After the war she again had the sense of having
been taken to the wrong place when, arriving in New York during a heat
wave, she thought she was in Africa. But the voices of unfamiliar relatives
calling "Renee" signaled the beginning of her new life. 30 minutes.
8050 Rabbi Baruch G. Edited Testimony
A survivor from Mlawa, Poland tells of his childhood and youth. Recollections
of the joyous Passovers of his childhood call to mind his feelings of
loneliness at his son's Bar Mitzvah, at which there was no one present
from his side of the family, since all had perished in the Holocaust.
Rabbi G. chronicles the breakdown and destruction of his closely knit
extended family and his own personal deterioration as he experienced the
degradations of numerous concentration and slave labor camps. He describes
the process of his recovery and relates his insights into its limitations,
which are poignantly revealed as he speaks of his relationship with his
son. 40 minutes. Excerpts from
this testimony are available online.
8062 Rachel G. Edited Testimony
A child survivor from Brussels, Belgium, relates her wartime experiences.
She tells of her leave taking from her parents, and lovingly recalls the
kindness of the priest, nuns, and childless couple who helped her survive
in hiding. She also recounts her postwar reunion and experiences with
her mother. 25 minutes. Excerpts
from this testimony are available online.
8063 Menachem S. Edited Testimony
A child survivor relates his vivid memories of Krakow, the German occupation,
and moving to the ghetto and to Plaszow concentration camp. He tells of
being smuggled out of the camp and surviving as a street child from age
four to seven, with the aid of a variety of Polish women. He reflects
upon his postwar reunion with his parents, the psychological effects of
his experiences and the possible effects on his own children, the next
generation. 42 minutes.
8075 Fred O. Edited Testimony
A physician, Fred O. recalls the health problems resulting from pervasive
lice in the Warsaw and Hrubieszow ghettos. He describes his futile attempt
to save his parents and the last time he saw them before their murder
at a mass grave outside of Hrubieszow, then discusses his sadness at liberation,
and others taking revenge on their guards. Dr. O. reflects upon the inadequacy
of language to convey his experience to others. 14 minutes.
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