Léon P. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Léon P., who was born in Meurthe-et-Moselle, France to Polish immigrants in 1933. He recalls his father volunteering for military service in 1939; evacuation with his mother and brother to Gironde; living there for two years (his father was a POW in Germany); joining his aunt and uncle in Paris in 1943; his mother's belief that his father's POW status would protect them; their arrest in February 1944; incarceration in Drancy; deportation to Bergen-Belsen in May; remaining with his mother and brother; living with death and killing becoming "normal"; train evacuation in spring 1945; liberation by Soviet troops in Tröbitz; his mother's death and burial; recuperating from typhus; transfer with his brother to United States authorities; repatriation with his brother; reunion with their father at Hotel Lutetia; attending school; and his father's remarriage. Mr. P. notes his reluctance to discuss his experiences with non-survivors; gradually sharing his story with relatives; dismay that testimonies were not collected earlier; and his belief that his experiences changed him internally, but did not impact his Jewish identity.

1 videocassette