Josif V. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Josif V., who was born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia in approximately 1928. He recalls cordial relations with non-Jews; Hungarian occupation; his father's draft into a Hungarian slave labor battalion (he never saw him again); German invasion in March 1944; a round-up for a mass killing of both Jewish and Serbs by the Arrow Cross (Nyilas) which included him, his mother, and sisters; not being chosen; their release with others at the end of the day; their deportation to Subotica, Baja, then Auschwitz; separation from his mother and sisters (the oldest was selected for work); learning of the gassings; transfer to Buchenwald; slave labor in a quarry and synthetic gasoline factory; a French prisoner-doctor saving his life; evacuation to Theresienstadt in April 1945; liberation by Soviet troops in May; returning to Novi Sad; reunion with his sister; attending university; his position on the faculty of medicine; and participating in the Belgrade Jewish community. Mr. V. discusses suppressing his memories due to painful emotions; Germans in camps who provided extra food, one who faked beating him; and others who carried out orders without compunctions.

2 videocassettes