Charles B. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 2991
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Charles B., a Roman Catholic, who was born in Antwerp, Belgium in 1925. He recalls German invasion; joining the Resistance with his brother in November 1942; their denouncement and arrest in June 1943; his brother's release; imprisonment in St. Gilles and Essen; transfer to Esterwegen, then to Gross-Strehlitz, in January 1944; sabotaging production in a munitions factory; receiving Red Cross packages; recovering from a serious injury with assistance from a prisoner doctor; a trial at Opeln; transfer to Laband; celebrating Christmas; an unsuccessful attempt to escape from a death march; train transport to Buchenwald; observing the horrendous condition of Jewish prisoners from Auschwitz; clearing rubble in Weimar after Allied bombings; twenty-eight days on a train with no food; witnessing cannibalism; arrival at Theresienstadt; liberation; traveling to Prague, then Plzen?; repatriation in June 1945; a lengthy recovery in a sanatorium; and reunion with his parents. Mr. B. details camp life; the importance of other prisoners to his survival; intergroup relations, his state of mind, and singing to raise morale in the camps; serving as president of a survivor organization; sharing his experiences with his children; and the impossibility of conveying the reality of these events.

Extent and Medium

8 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.