Olga R. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Olga R., a non-Jew who grew up in Kiev. She recalls extreme poverty; close friendship with Jewish neighbors; joining Komsomol; German occupation; German orders for all Jews to assemble on Melnikov Square on September 29, 1941; seeing off her two Jewish girlfriends; walking part way to Babi Yar with them; a knock on her window at night; finding her girlfriends; learning from them of the mass killings in Babi Yar; obtaining false papers and maps for them with assistance from a neighbor; learning they survived after the war; assisting them in finding their fathers; and seeing evidence of the massacre during visits to Babi Yar with her friends for Jewish memorial purposes. Mrs. R. discusses perceiving her actions as a simple act of humanity, not heroic, and she minimizes her role and emphasizes many others who helped; continuous assistance from and deep friendships with the women; traveling to Israel with assistance from Jewish organizations; receiving financial aid from a fund in the United States; and empathy for the ongoing suffering of her two friends.

1 videocassette