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Josephine B. Holocaust testimony (HVT-869) interviewed by Dana L. Kline and Lucille B. Ritvo,

Oral History | Digitized | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-869

Overview

Summary: Videotape testimony of Josephine B., who was born in Amsterdam in 1932. She recalls her youth in a prosperous family; German occupation; her father's activities in the resistance; his escape from the Netherlands; attending a Jewish school; transport to Westerbork with her mother, brother and sister in November 1942; and living in the orphanage when their mother feigned illness to delay deportation. Mrs. B. recounts their transfer to Bergen-Belsen fifteen months later; living conditions; transport east as the Allies approached; liberation from the train in April 1945; her mother's, brother's and sister's illnesses; her obsession with food; becoming ill herself; their June return to Amsterdam; learning about Auschwitz; reunion with her aunt and her father; emigration to England; attending boarding school; and returning to Amsterdam in 1948. Mrs. B. reflects upon her regrets at never discussing wartime experiences with her siblings and mother; efforts to shield her children from her experience; her resentment toward her father for deserting the family and not having saved them when he could; and the vividness of her memories and recent efforts to work through these problems.
Author/Creator: B., Josephine, 1932-
Published: New Haven, Conn. : Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, 1992
Interview Date: May 21, 1992.
Locale: Netherlands
Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Leipzig (Germany)
England
Cite As: Josephine B. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-869). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
Other Authors/Editors: Kline, Dana L., interviewer.
Ritvo, Lucille B.,

Physical Details

Language: English
Copies: 3 copies: 3/4 in. master; 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Physical Description: 1 videorecording (1 hr., 39 min.) : col

Keywords & Subjects

Subjects (Local Yale): Resistance.
Child survivors.
Mutual aid.
Postwar experiences.
Postwar effects.
Survivor-child relations.
Subjects: Holocaust survivors. Video tapes. Women. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Jewish. Father and child. Families. Concentration camps--Sociological aspects. World War, 1939-1945--Children. Concentration camps--Psychological aspects. Brothers and sisters. Mother and child. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Psychological aspects. Netherlands. Amsterdam (Netherlands) Leipzig (Germany) England. Oral histories (document genres) Concentration camp inmates--Family relationships. B., Josephine,--1932- Westerbork (Concentration camp) Bergen-Belsen (Concentration camp)

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/1055939
Record last modified:: 2018-06-04 13:27:00
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt1055939

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