Sonia R. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 1987
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Sonia R., who was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1929 of a Jewish mother and a non-Jewish father. She describes her father's anti-Nazi activities; Gestapo harassment; emigration to Italy, then France, in January 1933 because of her father's politics; her mother's art work; expulsion from France nine months later; her father's return to Germany and her mother's refusal, leading to their divorce; moving with her mother to San Remo; her third sibling's birth; receiving government orders in October 1939 to leave because they were foreigners; a German consular official helping her mother avoid deportation to Germany; internment in Grottaminarda, then Mirabella Eclano; pervasive hunger; moving to Mercogliano; receiving a small stipend from an American relative; interrogation by an SS soldier after German occupation; hiding in a forest; liberation by Allied troops; their emigration to the United States in August 1944; internment in Fort Ontario; and release in 1946. Mrs. R. discusses not being allowed to discuss their experiences within her family; her siblings' continuing refusal to discuss that time; and her mother's strength and determination which resulted in their survival. Mrs. R. shows photographs, her mother's artwork, and documents.

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

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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.