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

Oral History | Digitized | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-1386

Overview

Summary: 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
Cite As: Herbert J. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1386). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
Other Authors/Editors: Cohen, Steven Paul, interviewer.
Remis, Deborah Shelkan, interviewer.

Physical Details

Language: English
Copies: 2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Physical Description: 1 videorecording (57 min.) : col

Keywords & Subjects

Subjects (Local Yale): Postwar effects.
Subjects: Video tapes. Men. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American. Nightmares. Forced labor. Prisoners of war--Austria. World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities. World War, 1939-1945--Participation, American. Cannibalism. Concentration camps--Sociological aspects. Oral histories (document genres) J., Herbert,--1921- United States.--Army.--Armored Division, 11th. Gusen (Concentration camp) Mauthausen (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/1083404
Record last modified:: 2018-05-30 11:44:00
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt1083404

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