- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Raymond H., a non-Jew, who was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1919. He recounts moving to Nice after eighth grade; training as a pilot in Clermont-Ferrand; enlisting in the Belgian military in 1938; various assignments, including in Namur; German invasion; returning to his parents' home (they had returned to Belgium); hiding when Germans came for him; joining the Resistance in the Ardennes; delivering documents to a French aviator in Paris; observing Jews with yellow stars; his aunt hiding Jews; denouncement, arrest, and interrogation; transfer to prison in Arlon; being tortured; deportation to Essen/Deckenschule; friendship with a Jewish prisoner; slave labor carrying bags of cement; praying often; Allied bombings resulting in many prisoner deaths; assignment to exhuming corpses; transfer to another camp; abandonment by German guards; assistance from a German nun; liberation by United States troops; hospitalization in Recklinghausen for a month; transfer to a refugee camp; repatriation via Liège; receiving a Red Cross package en route; reunion with his parents; and joining organizations for former prisoners. Mr. H. discusses assistance from fellow prisoners; the obsession with food and viewing atrocities as “normal” in camps; recurring nightmares; visiting Essen in the 1950s (remains of the camp were being demolished); and not sharing his experiences for many years.
- Author/Creator
- H., Raymond, 1919-
- Published
- Brussels, Belgium : Fondation Auschwitz, 1999
- Interview Date
- June 14 and 15, 1999.
- Locale
- Belgium
Brussels (Belgium)
Nice (France)
Clermont-Ferrand (France)
Namur (Belgium)
Paris (France)
Liège (Belgium)
Recklinghausen (Münster, Germany)
- Cite As
- Raymond H. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-4230). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Thanessidkos, Yannis, interviewer.
Rosenfeldt, Michel, interviewer.
- Notes
-
This testimony is in French.
