- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Coenraad R., who was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1917, one of six children. He recalls being the only Jew in his public school; training as a tailor; military draft in 1939; German invasion in 1940; his father's death; marriage in September; organizing resistance through his socialist youth group; forced labor in 1942; transfer to Westerbork; deportation to Cosel (his wife, mother, and sister had already been deported), then Gleiwitz; staying with Dutch prisoners (there were conflicts with Poles); a higher death rate for the Dutch; remaining with one neighborhood friend; a death march in January 1945; train transfer through Czechoslovakia; Czechs throwing them food; observing destroyed German cities; incarceration at Sachsenhausen, Flossenbürg, Kaufering, and Landsberg; slave labor in an airplane factory; sabotaging their work; his friend's death in an Allied bombing (everyone in the truck was killed but him); losing his will to live without his friend; liberation by United States troops; returning to Holland in June; antisemitism from Dutch and Germans; reunion with his wife; and emigration to the United States. Mr. R. discusses concentration camp life; emotional difficulties resulting from his experiences; testifying at war crime trials; and sharing his experiences with his children.
- Author/Creator
- R., Coenraad, 1917-
- Published
- Austin, Tex. : Second Generation: Children of Holocaust Survivors, 1985
- Interview Date
- June 30, 1985.
- Locale
- Netherlands
Amsterdam (Netherlands)
- Cite As
- Coenraad R. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-759). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Alpert, Jay C., interviewer.
Orton, M., interviewer.
- Notes
-
Copies of additional printed materials are available in the repository.
Associated material: Coenraad R. Holocaust testimony (HVT-1131), Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
