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Leo B. Holocaust testimony (HVT-2680) interviewed by Joanne Weiner Rudof and Barbara Hadley Katz,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-2680

Videotape testimony of Leo B., who was born in Sosnowiec, Poland in 1918 to a family of seven children. He describes family life, especially his mother's vital role; the outbreak of war; anti-Jewish measures; being humiliated by Germans; forced labor in a factory; one brother's deportation in 1941; his sisters' deportation in 1942; a round-up in 1942; his father's and aunt's deportation (he never saw them again); his deportation to Gräditz (he never saw his mother, oldest brother and sister again); transfer in three months to Brande, then Blechhammer; and forced labor and beatings, from which he still bears scars. Mr. B. recalls assistance from local people in Gräditz and a German girl in Brande; Lageraltester Karl Demerer in Blechhammer; liberation from Blechhammer by civilians in 1945; walking to Sosnowiec; the return of two sisters; moving with them to Reichenbach; reunion with his surviving brother; traveling with his brother and sisters to Erding; his sisters' marriages; his brother's emigration to the United States in 1950; and his own in 1951. He reflects on the futility of the deaths of his mother, brothers, and sisters; the pervasiveness of his memories; and his doubts that the world can ever learn a lesson.

Author/Creator
B., Leo, 1918-
Published
New Haven, Conn. : Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, 1994
Interview Date
November 1, 1994.
Locale
Poland
Sosnowiec (Województwo Śląskie)
Sosnowiec (Województwo Śląskie, Poland)
Dzierżoniów (Poland)
Erding (Germany)
Language
English
Copies
3 copies: 3/4 in. master; 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Leo B. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-2680). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
 
View in Yale University Library Catalog: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/1091658
Record last modified: 2018-05-30 11:44:00
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt1091658