Henri M. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Henri M., a non-Jew, who was born in Saverne, France in 1920. He recalls attending school with Jews; his family's strong French patriotism; learning German in Berlin; studying in Strasbourg and Nancy; German invasion; military draft in June 1940; capture; escape from a POW center; traveling to Paris and Dijon; living in Saverne; studying in Heidelberg; arrest and escape; returning clandestinely to France with the help of French and Austrian Resistance members; studying law in Clermont-Ferrand; anti-Petain sentiments among students; Resistance work in the unoccupied zone; arrest for crossing the demarcation line; brief incarceration and release; arrest with other students in November 1943; Gestapo interrogation; transfer to Compiègne in March 1944; a friend's death sentence; deportation to Auschwitz in April; friendship with a Jewish prisoner; transfer to Buchenwald in May, then to Flossenbürg in March 1945; hospitalization; a death march in April; liberation by United States troops; staying in Cham; returning to Saverne; reunion with his parents; and completing his studies. Mr. M. notes the importance to his survival of speaking fluent German; the quick formation of fast and deep friendships in camps; the suffering of Jews; and compensation and medals received from the French government.
Extent and Medium
4 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. This testimony cannot be used for commercial purposes without prior written consent of the donor.
Rules and Conventions
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Process Info
compiled by Staff of the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
People
- M., Henri, -- 1920-
Corporate Bodies
- Compiègne (Concentration camp)
- Buchenwald (Concentration camp)
- Auschwitz (Concentration camp)
- Flossenbürg (Concentration camp)
Subjects
- Death marches.
- Concentration camps -- Sociological aspects.
- Friendship.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, German.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- France.
- Escapes.
- Prisoners of war -- France.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, French.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, French.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- Men.
- Video tapes.
- Concentration camp inmates.
- Resistance.
- Postwar experiences.
- Hospitals in concentration camps.
Places
- Strasbourg (France)
- Berlin (Germany)
- Saverne (France)
- France.
- Heidelberg (Germany)
- Dijon (France)
- Paris (France)
- Nancy (France)
- Cham (Germany)
- Clermont-Ferrand (France)
- Lyon (France)
Genre
- Oral histories. -- aat