Rachel S. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 1941
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Rachel S., who was born in Vilna, Poland in 1923, one of five children. She recalls cordial relations with non-Jews; German invasion in 1941; ghettoization; sneaking back to her former neighborhood and receiving food from non-Jewish neighbors; forced labor; her father losing his will to live; his refusal of an offer from a non-Jewish friend to hide their family; remaining in their apartment with one sister during a round-up (another sister and her parents were shot in a mass killing at Ponary); joining her brother who was hiding in a village; discovery; incarceration of those hiding them; a three-week Gestapo interrogation in Vilna; transfer to a small camp in September 1943, then to Kaiserwald, Stutthof, and Dachau; liberation; assistance from the Red Cross; living in Feldafing displaced persons camp; marriage six weeks after liberation; reunion with one brother, the only other family survivor; living in Heidenhiem displaced persons camp for three years; and emigration to the United States in 1949. Mrs. S. notes she lost her faith, although never lost hope in the camps; nightmares about being caught by Germans; not sharing her story with her daughters; and painful feelings concerning the reunification of Germany.

Extent and Medium

2 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.