Chaya V. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Chaya V., who was born in Kotelʹnya, Ukraine in 1909. She recounts her parents' premature deaths; living in orphanages in Z︠H︡ytomyr and Berdychiv; marriage to a non-Jew in 1927; her daughter's birth in 1928; her husband's draft in 1930; his discharge in 1935; living briefly in the far east; her husband's military recall in 1941; German invasion; a failed evacuation attempt with her four children; hiding her three older children with non-Jewish friends; moving into the ghetto with her infant; their escape during the ghetto's liquidation in September 1941; hiding with non-Jewish friends and her mother-in-law; witnessing mass killings of Jews with her older daughter; obtaining false papers with assistance from non-Jews; denouncement; successfully maintaining her non-Jewish, Ukrainian identity during interrogations, and being vouched for by a Ukrainian friend; her husband's return from a POW camp; their move to Kiev with assistance from non-Jews; her husband hiding them all; liberation by Soviet troops; and returning to Z︠H︡ytomyr. Mrs. V. discusses living in constant terror during the war; her husband's loyalty to her; ignorance of Judaism; losing her entire family; and present nightmares of her experiences.

3 videocassettes