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Felix W. Holocaust testimony (HVT-2659) interviewed by Annette Wieviorka and Berthe Burko,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-2659

Videotape testimony of Felix W., who was born in Vienna, Austria in 1924. He describes antisemitic incidents; the Anschluss; expulsion from school; Kristallnacht; his father's incarceration in Dachau; confiscation of their apartment; his mother's decision that he was to leave while she waited for his father's release; attempting to enter France in December 1938 from Saarbrücken, then crossing from Karlsruhe to Lauterbourg; being returned by French authorities; crossing from Freiburg to Basel; assistance from the Committee for Jewish Refugees; and joining relatives in Paris in July 1939. Mr. W. recounts German invasion; leaving Paris by himself in a mass exodus in June 1940; moving to Préchacq-Josbaig to join relatives after their release from Gurs; fleeing to Pau after his uncle's arrest in December 1940; living with his aunt in Rioupéroux; arrest on August 31, 1942; incarceration in Gurs, then Rivesaltes; escaping in September; obtaining false papers; returning to his aunt; assistance from the mayor; fleeing from Lyon to Chamonix; crossing to Switzerland; arrest by Swiss guards; transfer to refugee camps in Martigny, Büren, and Girenbad; learning photography in Locarno; and photographing refugee camps for the Zentralleitung der Arbeitslager.

Author/Creator
W., Felix, 1924-
Published
Paris, France : Témoignages pour mémoire, 1992/1993
Interview Date
October 9, 1992 and January 7, 1993.
Locale
Rioupéroux (France)
Préchacq-Josbaig (France)
Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany)
Lauterbourg (France)
Austria
Vienna (Austria)
Saarbrücken (Germany)
Karlsruhe (Germany)
Basel (Switzerland)
Paris (France)
Pau (France)
Lyon (France)
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (France)
Locarno (Switzerland)
Martigny-Ville (Switzerland)
Büren an der Aare (Switzerland)
Girenbad (Switzerland)
Language
French
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Felix W. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-2659). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
 
View in Yale University Library Catalog: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/1109450
Record last modified: 2018-05-29 11:58:00
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt1109450