Skip to main content

Morris S. Holocaust testimony (HVT-589)

Oral History | Digitized | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-589

Overview

Summary: Videotape testimony of Morris S., who was born in Cze̜stochowa, Poland, in 1921. He recalls growing up in a middle-class family of seven children; his father's bakery business; German invasion; killings of Jews; creation of the Judenrat; ghettoization; leaving the ghetto for forced labor; a friend's death in a mass killing; liquidation of the ghetto; forced labor with two sisters and one brother in Rachów; transfer to Buchenwald, then a camp near Dresden; a death march; escaping with his brother; separating from him to avoid being caught (he never saw him again); posing as a non-Jew to join Polish forced laborers; and liberation by Soviet troops. Mr S. recounts traveling to Dresden; returning to Cze̜stochowa; reunion with two sisters; leaving for Germany after hearing about the Kielce pogrom; living in the Landsberg displaced persons camp; marriage to an Auschwitz survivor; the birth of their child; and their emigration to the United States. He expresses his great appreciation for the United States and notes his participation in survivor groups.
Author/Creator: S., Morris, 1921-
Published: Wilmette, Ill. : Holocaust Education Foundation, 1984
Interview Date: November 11, 1984.
Locale: Poland
Częstochowa
Rachów
Częstochowa (Poland)
Dresden (Germany)
Cite As: Morris S. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-589). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.

Physical Details

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

Keywords & Subjects

Subjects (Local Yale): Concentration camp inmates Escapes.
Mass killings.
Antisemitism Postwar.
Postwar experiences.
Subjects: Holocaust survivors. Video tapes. Men. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Jewish. Jewish ghettos. Jewish councils. Jews--Poland--Częstochowa. Jews--Poland--Rachów. Forced labor. Brothers and sisters. Brothers. World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities. Death marches. Oral histories (document genres) Poland. Częstochowa (Poland) Dresden (Germany) Refugee camps. S., Morris,--1921- Landsberg am Lech (Displaced persons camp) Buchenwald (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/1110348
Record last modified:: 2018-05-29 11:46:00
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt1110348

Additional Resources

Librarian View

Download & Licensing

Terms of Use
This record is digitized but cannot be downloaded online.

In-Person Research

Request Access from Yale University Libraries

Requires Yale University Libraries Permission
Accessing Fortunoff interviews
Log in to Request and View
About the Fortunoff Archive

Once requests are approved, you must be at a Fortunoff Access Site to view the testimony.

Contact Us

Give Feedback

Learn About the Holocaust

These additional online resources from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum will help you learn more about the Holocaust and research your family history.

Holocaust Encyclopedia

The Holocaust Encyclopedia provides an overview of the Holocaust using text, photographs, maps, artifacts, and personal histories.
Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center

Research family history relating to the Holocaust and explore the Museum's collections about individual survivors and victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution.
Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos

Learn about over 1,000 camps and ghettos in Volumes I-III of this encyclopedia, which are available as a free PDF download. This reference provides text, photographs, charts, maps, and extensive indexes.

Further Your Research