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Joseph A. Holocaust testimony (HVT-651)

Oral History | Digitized | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-651

Overview

Summary: Videotape testimony of Joseph A., who was born in Lithuania in 1919. He recalls attending yeshiva in Kelmė; attending gymnasium; draft into the Lithuanian military in 1939; Soviet occupation; transfer to the Soviet military; leaving the military; German occupation; ghettoization; being selected with other men for forced labor in Germany; a rabbi encouraging them to help each other; frequent beatings; receiving extra food from friends; transfer to Auschwitz; transfer with other non-Polish-speaking prisoners to clean up the remains of the Warsaw ghetto; observing shootings of Jews who had hidden themselves; a death march during which friends assisted him; train transport to Dachau; hospitalization; transfer to another camp; liberation by United States troops; hospitalization in Germany for over a year; living in a displaced persons camp; marriage; his son's birth; and emigration to the United States in 1949. Mr. A. discusses the importance to his survival of will power and assistance from fellow prisoners.
Author/Creator: A., Joseph, 1919-
Published: Wilmette, Ill. : Holocaust Education Foundation, 1985
Interview Date: October 10, 1985.
Locale: Lithuania
Kelmė (Lithuania)
Warsaw (Poland)
Cite As: Joseph A. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-651). 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., 2 min.) : col

Keywords & Subjects

Subjects (Local Yale): Soviet occupation.
Mutual aid.
Hospitals in concentration camps.
Postwar experiences.
Subjects: Holocaust survivors. Video tapes. Men. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Jewish. Draft--Lithuania. World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Lithuanian. World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Jewish. World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Soviet. World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities. Concentration camps--Psychological aspects. Death marches. Forced labor. Refugee camps. Lithuania. Kelmė (Lithuania) Warsaw (Poland) Oral histories (document genres) A., Joseph,--1919- Auschwitz (Concentration camp) Dachau (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/4282265
Record last modified:: 2018-05-30 11:44:00
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt4282265

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