Yehuda M. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 3316
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Yehuda M., who was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1914, the only child of an eighth generation Dutch-Jewish family. He recalls moving to Hilversum at age fourteen; attending public school; his bar mitzvah; participating in Hashomer Hatzair, then Betar; working in steel production; enlisting in the Dutch military; marriage in Rotterdam in 1940; capitulation to Germany; anti-Jewish restrictions; obtaining false papers; living as non-Jews; working with the underground to hide other Jews; his mother's death in Eindhoven; her Christian funeral; being shot when fleeing from arrest in Utrecht; hospitalization, then imprisonment; transfer to Vught in October 1943. then to Moerdijk; receiving packages from the Red Cross and mail from his wife; translating for French prisoners; transfer to ś-Hertogenbosch; forming a close group with a few other prisoners; futile escape plans by the camp underground; transfer to Westerbork, Auschwitz/Birkenau, then Monowitz; working in a privileged position as an accountant; receiving special rations; sharing the regular food with others; his group's separation from other prisoners; public hangings; brief hospitaltization; a death march to Gleiwitz; train transport to Dora; separation from his group when he was sent to Osterode; slave labor digging tunnels; transfer back to Dora; liberation by United States troops; living in a nearby villa; working for the U.S. military; assistance from UNRRA; returning home; recovering from tuberculosis; the birth of a son; encountering antisemitism in the Dutch military; his wife and son emigrating to Palestine in July 1947; his emigration in November, after military discharge; and twice testifying at Dutch war crime trials. Mr. M. discusses how worthless life became in the camps; his strong will to live; treatment for psychological issues and nightmares resulting from his experiences; not sharing his story with his children; and attributing his survival to luck. He shows his wife's letter to him when he was in camp.

Extent and Medium

16 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

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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.