- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Heinz W., who was born in Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany in 1920, the second of three sons. He recounts his father's World War I service in the Russian army and capture in Germany as a prisoner of war (he remained there and established a successful tailoring business); difficulties finding a quorum for his bar mitzvah due to laws against Jews gathering together; his father's trip to Palestine in 1934, then sending his older brother to school there; antisemitic harassment; expulsion from school and an electrician's apprenticeship due to anti-Jewish laws; reluctantly joining his father's business; Nazis vandalizing their home and beating his parents on Kristallnacht; his arrest for defending them; local imprisonment, then transfer to Sachsenhausen with his father; frequent beatings, slave labor, and pointless exercises; his father sharing extra food with him; Martin Niemöller obtaining medication for Jewish prisoners; release in 1939 based on his pledge to leave Germany; assistance returning home from his father's customer in Berlin; emigration to Palestine with his parents via Vienna and Dubrovnik (his younger brother emigrated to Palestine with a children's group); marriage; and the births of three children. Mr. W. discusses receiving compensation for his family's home and for injuries received in Sachsenhausen, which he visited with his daughter. He shows photographs.
- Author/Creator
- W., Heinz, 1920-
- Published
- Tel Aviv, Israel : Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, 1996
- Interview Date
- October 10, 1996.
- Locale
- Germany
Frankfurt an der Oder
Frankfurt an der Oder (Germany)
Berlin (Germany)
Vienna (Austria)
Dubrovnik (Croatia)
Palestine
- Cite As
- Heinz W. Holocaust testimony (HVT-3844). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Notes
-
This testimony is in Hebrew.
