Peretz R. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Peretz R., who was born in Holíč, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy(presently Slovakia) in 1916, one of three brothers. He recalls his father's Jewish and secular leadership roles; attending school in Bratislava, then Skalica; joining Maccabi; attending medical school in 1934; leaving in 1938 due to antisemitism; attending Gordonyah training in Bánovce; marriage in 1940; continuing his youth movement work in Bratislava; one-month incarceration in a work camp in Humenné; arrest and escape; his parents going into hiding; he and his wife traveling illegally to Budapest; conflicts among the Zionist movements; working with Joel Brand; obtaining false papers; arrest; Brand arranging his release; working with a committee to rescue Jews; contacts with Rudolf Kasztner; producing false documents for a large number of Jews and non-Jews; visiting Bratislava for a meeting with Gisi Fleischman; seeing his parents and brothers; German occupation in March 1944; he and his wife continuing to work with Brand, Kasztner and others, including Kurt Becher, a German officer, to hide Jews and establish children's home; he and his wife declining a space on the Kasztner train so they could continue their work; visiting Bratislava again; assistance from the head of the Swedish Red Cross; arrival of his parents and one brother; liberation by Soviet troops; operating many children's homes with Red Cross and Joint assistance; bringing a group of children to Pécs; meetings with the Joint in Bucharest; the birth of two children; attending Zionist conferences in Karlovy Vary, Holland, and Paris; emigration of his parents, brothers, and their families to Israel in 1949; and joining them with his family. Mr. R. discusses many episodes and people with whom he worked during the war; his role in the Kasztner trial; his career as a social worker; and his family.
Extent and Medium
22 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
- Becher, Kurt, -- 1909-
- Fleischmann, Gisi.
- Kasztner, Rezső Rudolf, -- 1906-1957.
- Brand, Joel, -- 1906-1964.
- R., Peretz, -- 1916-
Corporate Bodies
- International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
- American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
- Maccabi World Union.
- Gordonyah--Makabi ha-tsaʻir (Association)
Subjects
- Video tapes.
- Men.
- Holocaust survivors.
- Antisemitism -- Prewar.
- False papers.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Slovakia.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Hungary.
- Escapes.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, German.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Postwar experiences.
- Aid by non-Jews.
Places
- Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic)
- Paris (France)
- Austria.
- Bucharest (Romania)
- Pécs (Hungary)
- Budapest (Hungary)
- Humenné (Slovakia)
- Bánovce nad Bebravou (Slovakia)
- Skalica (Slovakia)
- Bratislava (Slovakia)
- Holíč (Slovakia)
Genre
- Oral histories. -- aat