Harold K. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 2040
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Harold K., who was born in Sosnowiec, Poland in 1920. He recalls his impoverished home; their orthodoxy; leaving school to begin working at age twelve; Polish antisemitism; German invasion; a public hanging of Jews; forced labor as a bricklayer in Katowice; transfer to a labor camp; arrest while visiting home; release and transfer to Annaberg, which he helped build; Allied bombardments; Yom Kippur services; his privileged status as a bricklayer; visiting his family in the Sosnowiec ghetto; transfer to Auschwitz in June 1944, then to Birkenau and Gleiwitz; a death march in December 1944; train transport to Oranienburg (about twenty percent of those who left Gleiwitz survived); transfer to another camp; digging tunnels for airplane factories; transfer to Dachau; liberation by United States troops; selling food and material provided by an American officer; living in Munich; returning briefly to Sosnowiec (neither his parents nor siblings survived); marriage to a survivor; and emigration in 1949 to the United States with assistance from HIAS. Mr. K. discusses the importance of luck to his survival; being treated well by Americans at liberation; painful memories of total humiliation; and sharing his experiences with his children and grandchildren.

Extent and Medium

3 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.