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Jerry S. Holocaust testimony (HVT-1030)

Oral History | Digitized | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-1030

Overview

Summary: Videotape testimony of Jerry S., who was born in Troyanovka, Russia (presently Ukraine) in 1915. He recounts his family's evacuation during World War I; returning to live in Povorsk after the war; inability to support himself; living in Łódź from 1932 to 1937; returning to Povorsk; working as a store manager for the Soviets until being drafted in June 1941; retreating with Soviet forces; learning of the mass killing of Jews in his town (two brothers escaped to the partisans); serving as a machine gun operator in Kiev shortly before the Germans arrived; hiding in a field when overtaken by Germans (he saw Soviet soldiers, who had surrendered, shot on the spot); forced labor for two years in Soviet camps building railroads in the Urals and in a coal mine near Moscow for two years; hearing from his brother; traveling to Łódź in 1946; illegally crossing borders to join his brother in Italy; and their emigration to the United States in 1948 to join relatives. Mr. S. notes he always spoke to his children about his experiences in spite of emotional difficulties doing so.
Author/Creator: S., Jerry, 1915-
Published: Auburn, Me. : Holocaust Human Rights Center of Maine, 1987
Interview Date: July 7, 1987.
Locale: Soviet Union
Ural Mountains (Russia)
Russia
Troyanovka (Ukraine)
Povorsk (Ukraine)
Łódź (Poland)
Kiev (Ukraine)
Cite As: Jerry S. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1030). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.

Physical Details

Language: English
Copies: 2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Physical Description: 1 videorecording (1 hr., 9 min.) : col

Keywords & Subjects

Subjects (Local Yale): Antisemitism Prewar.
Mass killings.
Postwar experiences.
Subjects: Holocaust survivors. Video tapes. Men. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Jewish. World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Soviet. World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities. Babi Yar Massacre, Ukraine, 1941. World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor--Soviet Union. Forced labor--Soviet Union--History--20th century. Ural Mountains (Russia) Russia. Troyanovka (Ukraine) Povorsk (Ukraine) Łódź (Poland) Kiev (Ukraine) Oral histories (document genres) S., Jerry,--1915-

Administrative Notes

Holder of Originals: Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
Special Collection: Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies

Link to Yale University Library Catalog:: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/4282913
Record last modified:: 2018-05-29 11:46:00
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt4282913

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