Gregor S. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Gregor S., the only survivor of a family of twenty-two, who grew up in Libau, Latvia. He speaks of his prewar life in a close-knit Hasidic family; his childhood education; his musical education in Vienna and his career as an opera singer (he is now a cantor.) He tells of his return from Switzerland to Latvia, shortly before the Russian occupation, where he was employed by the state opera; the rapidly worsening situation for the Jews following the German occupation; and the willing collaboration of the Latvians. He relates his internment in the large ghetto and, upon its liquidation thirty-seven days later, the small ghetto of Ri?ga, where he was separated from his wife and her family. He recounts his work in German officers' quarters and he explains how he was able to warn small ghetto residents of its impending liquidation. Mr. S. tells of his transport to Ri?ga/Kaiserwald and, in 1944, to Danzig/Stutthof. He recalls the dehumanizing conditions there; his work as a slave laborer in a shipbuilding factory in Danzig; and the kindness of a German supervisor, who took upon himself the responsibility for Mr. S.'s survival. Throughout his testimony, Mr. G. speaks of the importance of songs to the morale of the Jews.

1 videocassette (3/4" u-matic)