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Leon K. Holocaust testimony (HVT-548) interviewed by Louis Rosenblum and Elaine Shepp,,

Oral History | Digitized | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-548

Overview

Summary: Videotape testimony of Leon K., who was born in Łódź, Poland in 1924. He recalls his orthodox family; apprenticeship with a shoemaker; German invasion; ghettoization in 1940; deportation to Hohensalza in September 1942; slave labor building railroads in a camp near Jaksice; a German supervisor sharing food with him; public hangings in Andrzejow; transfer to Birkenau in 1943; assistance from a Czech doctor in a camp hospital; construction work on an electric station in Jaworzno; working in the coal mines until January 17, 1945; assistance from a German; helping a man carry his son during the death march; mass killings in Bytom; fighting for food and sharing it with friends in Blechhammer; and liberation by Soviet troops. Mr. K. describes returning to Łódź; learning that his family was killed in Chełmno; antisemitic incidents; marriage; fleeing to Germany; living in displaced persons camps for six years; recuperating from several health problems; and emigration to the United States. He notes many instances where survival depended upon prisoners helping each other and discusses his severe depression after liberation.
Author/Creator: K., Leon, 1924-
Published: Wilmette, Ill. : Holocaust Education Foundation, 1984
Interview Date: July 25, 1984.
Locale: Poland
Łódź
Łódź (Poland)
Bytom (Poland)
Cite As: Leon K. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-548). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.

Physical Details

Language: English
Copies: 2 copies: 3/4 in. master; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Physical Description: 1 videorecording (1 hr., 27 min.) : col

Keywords & Subjects

Subjects (Local Yale): Child survivors.
Aid by non-Jews.
Mutual aid.
Postwar experiences.
Antisemitism Postwar.
Mass killings.
Subjects: Holocaust survivors. Video tapes. Men. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Jewish. World War, 1939-1945--Children. Jewish ghettos. Jews--Poland--Łódź. Forced labor. Death marches. Concentration camp inmates--Escapes. World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities. Poland. Łódź (Poland) Bytom (Poland) Oral histories (document genres) Refugee camps. K., Leon,--1924- Birkenau (Concentration camp) Jaworzno (Concentration camp) Blechhammer E/3 (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/1108256
Record last modified:: 2018-05-30 11:32:00
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt1108256

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