Haïm A. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Haïm A., who was born in Chișinău, Romania in 1923, one of three children. He recounts his family's move to Antwerp in 1929 due to antisemitism; attending Jewish and public schools; participating in Betar; his father's death in 1933; German invasion; fleeing with his brothers to Boulogne; doing farm work for a few weeks; returning home; living as non-Jews; several menial jobs; arrest with his family in 1943; imprisonment for several weeks; transfer with his family to Malines; deportation in cattle cars; separation from his mother (he never saw her again); arrival in Buchenwald; becoming inured to death all around him; slave labor in a quarry, as a bricklayer, and an electrician; transfer with his brothers to Tröglitz six months later; solidarity within his small group; escaping with his brothers from a train transport; posing as non-Jewish Belgian forced laborers; liberation by United States troops two weeks later; repatriation to Liège in May 1945; interrogations to confirm they were Belgians; returning home; and establishing a business with his brothers. Mr. A. discusses not sharing their experiences because no one believed them; sharing them with his second wife; visiting Auschwitz with her; nightmares, insomnia, and loss of belief in God resulting from his experiences; and participating in associations of former camp prisoners.

3 videocassettes