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Herbert J. Holocaust testimony (HVT-1386) interviewed by Steven Paul Cohen and Deborah Shelkan Remis,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-1386

Videotape testimony of Herbert J., a non-Jew, who was born in Maine in 1921 and served in the United States Army 11th Armored Infantry in World War II. He recalls enlisting in June 1944; entering Germany during the Battle of the Bulge; his capture; and transport through several holding camps to Gusen, then Mauthausen. He describes the prisoner hierarchy; many dying of starvation; brutal punishments and atrocities; taking clothes from the dead, avoiding those marked with a "J" because Jews were treated more harshly; inadequate sanitation; forced labor in a quarry; cannibalism among Soviet prisoners; local children who were encouraged to harass and strike prisoners enroute to the quarry; and a young girl who helped him when he was struck down. He notes his nightmares about these experiences and the dehumanization in the camps.

Author/Creator
J., Herbert, 1921-
Published
Peabody, Mass. : Holocaust Center of the Jewish Federation of the North Shore, 1989
Interview Date
June 6, 1989.
Locale
Austria
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Herbert J. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1386). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.