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John M. Holocaust testimony (HVT-1031)

Oral History | Digitized | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-1031

Overview

Summary: Videotape testimony of John M., who was born in approximately 1932. He recalls his family's sense of being Austrian, not Jewish (he was baptized); knowing they were Jewish due to antisemitism; leaving Vienna six weeks after the Anschluss; being placed with his brother in hiding in a convent in Belgrade; living in Nice for several months; departing for England; attending many schools, sometimes with his brother, sometimes alone; seeing his mother infrequently (she provided important emotional support); harassment as Germans; changing their last name to their mother's maiden name (their father had left them earlier); and emigration to the United States almost seven years later. Mr. M. discusses his continuing sense of being an outsider; beginning to feel more Jewish after reading about the Holocaust; admiration for his mother's ingenuity and strength; his children not understanding why they had no religion, although not being disturbed by it; and not considering himself a "survivor" in order not to trivialize the experiences of those who suffered so much more than he.
Author/Creator: M., John, 1932?-
Published: Auburn, Me. : Holocaust Human Rights Center of Maine, 1987
Interview Date: July 9, 1987.
Locale: Vienna (Austria)
Belgrade (Serbia)
Nice (France)
England
Cite As: John M. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1031). 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., 12 min.) : col

Keywords & Subjects

Subjects (Local Yale): Child survivors.
Antisemitism Prewar.
Hiding.
Postwar effects.
Survivor-child relations.
Subjects: Holocaust survivors. Video tapes. Men. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Jewish. World War, 1939-1945--Children. Jews--Migrations. Jewish refugees. Christian converts from Judaism. Identification (Religion) Convents. Brothers. Mothers and sons. Vienna (Austria) Belgrade (Serbia) Nice (France) England. Oral histories (document genres) M., John,--1932?-

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/4282916
Record last modified:: 2018-06-04 13:31:00
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt4282916

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