Frances E. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Frances E., who was born in Prague in 1920. In this vivid and insightful testimony, Mrs. E. speaks of the clash between German and Czech cultures in prewar Prague, exemplified by her parents and herself; the German occupation of Prague in March 1939 and the subsequent restrictions imposed on Jews; her family's arrest, interrogation, and release in summer 1942; and her transport, with her parents and husband, to Theresienstadt in August 1942. She describes the painful separation from her parents; her psychological breakdown upon arrival; her work in Theresienstadt; separation from her husband; and her deportation to Auschwitz in May 1944. She relates meeting a cousin, with whom she survived the war, and the psychological dissociation which was essential to her survival. She tells of her July 1944 transport to Hamburg; her transfer to another camp, where she worked as an electrician for the sadistic camp head; her evacuation and eventual arrival at Bergen-Belsen in spring 1945; and liberation by the British in April. Mrs. E. also discusses learning of the deaths of her parents and husband; the indifference she encountered upon her postwar return to Prague; suicidal feelings as well as other psychological effects of her experiences; her second marriage; and her three children.

3 videocassettes (3/4" u-matic)