Menashe L. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 3625
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Menashe L., who was born in Cluj, Romania in 1934, a twin. He recalls his family's affluence; attending cheder and a Neolog school; his father leading prayers in local synagogues; Hungarian occupation; being beaten by Arrow Cross youth; his father and uncles being drafted into Hungarian slave labor battalions; participating in Bene-ʻAḳiva; German invasion in spring 1944; his mother sending him and his twin sister to their grandparents' village; transfer to the Szilágysomlyó (Șimleu Silvaniei) ghetto; deportation to Auschwitz/Birkenau; he and his sister being separated from his grandmother and aunt when they were identified as twins; placement in a barrack where "experiments" were conducted on twins and others by Josef Mengele and his staff; his assignment to deliver food to the barrack; smuggling extra food for his sister and others; his sister's hospitalization resulting from an "experiment"; feigning a toothache to join her; convincing her to return to the barrack; his privileged assignment as a messenger, providing access to many parts of the camp; encountering his aunt; obtaining food and clothing from the Canada Kommando for those in his barrack and a special meal for Rosh ha-Shannah; celebrating Hanukkah; praying with his smuggled siddur; and observing the destruction of a crematorium during a prisoner uprising.

Extent and Medium

11 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

Corporate Bodies

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Genre

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.