Eric H. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Eric H., who was born in Gro?dek, Poland in 1908. He describes his family; engineering studies in Czechoslovakia; moving to Galicia for employment; and the demoralizing impact of Russian occupation in 1939. Mr. H. recalls joining his parents in Lwo?w; his marriage; moving to Boryslav; the May 1941 arrest of schoolchildren for celebrating a Polish holiday; the German attack in June; a brutal pogrom in which Jews were killed by the local population when the bodies of the arrested children were found and it was rumored Jews were responsible; and moral dilemmas of the Judenrat in implementing German deportations. Mr. H. remembers mass killings and atrocities; a German supervisor who saved him and his wife; being hidden with sixteen Jews for six weeks by a Ukrainian; liberation by Russians; fear of the Russians and of Polish antisemitism; escape to Germany; directing an ORT school; and emigration to the United States in 1949. In this vivid and detailed testimony, Mr. E. reflects upon the impact of the Soviet occupation in creating a passive response to the Germans and the role of the human spirit and luck in survival.

2 videocassettes (3/4" u-matic)