Ralph F. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Ralph F., who was born in Kabalnik, a small town 80 km. east of Vilna, Poland. Mr. F. tells of his Orthodox childhood and his education in both a cheder and a Polish primary school; the rapid increase of antisemitism; the egalitarianism of the Russian occupation; disappearances in the middle of the night; the German occupation; and the precautions which he took to avoid being rounded up and deported. He describes the acts of extreme barbarity and cruelty which he witnessed; antisemitic legislation; his narrow escape from the liquidation which took place on Yom Kippur, 1942; and hiding, with his mother, in a grain storage shed for five months. He recalls joining the partisans and recounts a number of interesting experiences which illustrate his precocity; his reunion with his parents in 1943; and his continued activities with the partisans until 1945, when he was drafted into the Russian army. He also speaks of his injury in a battle with a group of retreating Germans and his postwar move to Berlin with his parents.
Extent and Medium
2 videocassettes (3/4" u-matic)
Conditions Governing Access
This testimony is open with permission.
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright has been transferred to the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies. Use of this testimony requires permission of the Fortunoff Video Archive.
Rules and Conventions
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Process Info
compiled by Staff of the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
People
- F., Ralph, 1930?-2017.
Subjects
- Video tapes.
- Holocaust survivors.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- Men.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Children.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Hiding.
- Soviet occupation.
- Partisans.
- Child survivors.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Jewish resistance -- Poland.
- Draft -- Soviet Union.
Places
- Kabalnik (Poland)
- Vilna (Poland)
- Vilnius (Lithuania)
- Poland.
Genre
- Oral histories. -- ftamc