Ester E. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 3850
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Ester E., who was born in Šal̕a, Czechoslovakia (presently Slovakia) in 1926, one of four children. She recounts her family's affluence; Hungarian occupation in 1938; her older brother's emigration to Palestine in 1939; certification as a seamstress; German invasion in 1944; ghettoization; arrests and beatings of her father; transfer to the Nové Zámky ghetto; a letter from her brother noting he had documents for their emigration to Palestine; her mother's refusal to leave her relatives; deportation to Auschwitz/Birkenau in May; she and one sister's separation from their family (they never saw them again); useless slave labor; her cousin arranging a privileged position as a seamstress, for which she received extra food; a male prisoner giving her better shoes; transfer to Bergen-Belsen in September, then to Duderstadt in November; slave labor in a munitions factory; a civilian worker leaving her extra food; her sister's death; a death march to Raguhn; hiding with others during the evacuation; their discovery and arrest; the local police releasing them; working for local Germans; liberation by United States troops; assistance from a Jewish soldier with whom she is still in contact; being cared for in Bitterfeld, then Halle; contacting her brother in Palestine; returning home; recovering hidden valuables; sheltering youth preparing to emigrate to Palestine under the auspices of Bene ʻAḳiva; marriage; illegal emigration to Palestine via Marseille in 1946; incarceration on Cyprus; the birth of a sickly child who died; reunion with her brother; and the subsequent births of three daughters. Ms. E. discusses pervasive painful memories; only recently sharing her experiences with her children and grandchildren; and learning five years ago that her sister was buried in the Jewish cemetery in the city of Duderstadt. She sings a Hungarian song and shows photographs and documents.

Extent and Medium

7 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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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.