Herman F. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 0373
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Herman F., who was born in ?o?dz?, Poland in approximately 1925, the only child of a wealthy family. He recounts attending private school; antisemitic harassment; his father's death in 1939; German invasion; his mother's efforts to hide their assets (gold, diamonds, etc.) in clothing and on their bodies; ghettoization; attending school until it closed; working in offices; his mother's selection for deportation (she bribed her way out); her death; deportation to Auschwitz in 1944; transfer to Gleiwitz several days later; slave labor digging ditches; briefly escaping from a death march with three others; transfer to Gross-Rosen; a German prisoner official offering him easier work for sexual favors; refusing, resulting in assignment moving bodies of prisoners who committed suicide; transport five days later to Buchenwald; beatings by Soviet POWs; transfer to Berga; assistance from friends when he was injured; escaping with friends from a death march; hiding; arrest; convincing officials they were Polish workers; obtaining papers as such; working on local farms; traveling to Spiegelau when the war ended; marriage to a survivor; his son's birth; and emigration to the United States in 1949. Mr. F. attributes his survival to his never losing hope due to his young age and to being alone, thus focusing only on himself. He discusses recurring nightmares.

Extent and Medium

3 videocassettes

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

Corporate Bodies

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Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.