Anton P. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Anton P., who was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1917. Mr. P., who served in the United States Third Army, tells of being wounded in France; evacuation to England; returning to the front to aid in the relief of Bastogne; his artillery unit's rapid advance across Germany in April 1945; passing through Buchenwald hours after its liberation; and dining with a German who denied knowledge of Buchenwald, but whose home overlooked the camp. He recalls being temporarily reassigned to serve with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), where he was the commander of displaced persons camps in Metten, Passau, and Windsheim (a displaced persons camp for Jewish refugees). He explains UNRRA's distinction between displaced persons and "infiltrees"; problems of administration and discipline; political activism among camp inhabitants; his decision to turn management of daily routines over to the residents' elected representatives; and the ambiguous relationship of camp residents with military occupation authorities. He recounts vignettes of his experience, including his marriage to an UNRRA social worker in camp and his return to the United States to attend Harvard in 1947.
Extent and Medium
1 videocassette (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
- P., Anton, -- 1917-1991.
Corporate Bodies
- United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.
- Buchenwald (Concentration camp)
Subjects
- Antisemitism -- Postwar.
- Mutual aid.
- Video tapes.
- Jews -- Migrations.
- Refugees, Jewish.
- Refugee camps.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Refugees.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- Men.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, American.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.
Places
- Providence (R.I.)
- Passau (Germany : Refugee camp)
- Windsheim (Germany : Refugee camp)
- Germany -- History -- 1945-1955.
- Metten (Germany : Refugee camp)
Genre
- Oral histories. -- ftamc