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Mitchell W. Holocaust testimony (HVT-1006) interviewed by Elaine Shepp and Chaya Roth,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-1006

Videotape testimony of Mitchell W., who was born in Łódź, Poland in 1926. He recalls his large and close extended family; German invasion; confiscation of Jewish property resulting in loss of family income; ghettoization; working as an electrician; his father's death from starvation in April 1941; deportation with his mother to Auschwitz/Birkenau in August 1944; transfer to Mysłowice (Günthergrube) after volunteering as an electrician; forced labor in coal mines; being saved from a selection by doctors in the infirmary; prisoner variety shows on Christmas and New Year; the death march in January 1945; escaping with another prisoner; arrest; imprisonment in Czechoslovakia and Vienna; and transfer to Mauthausen. Mr W. remembers the complete lack of food; eating snails and dead birds; moving to the tent camp; liberation; escaping due to his fear of being caught again by Germans; living in a displaced pserons camp; returning to Łódź to seek family; fearing to reclaim family property due to antisemitism; traveling with a kibbutz to Czechoslovakia and Germany; and emigrating to the United States. He discusses his inability to enjoy anything because he lost all family with whom to share his life.

Author/Creator
W., Mitchell, 1926-
Published
Wilmette, Ill. : Holocaust Education Foundation, 1987
Interview Date
March 27, 1987.
Locale
Poland
Łódź
Łódź (Poland)
Czechoslovakia
Germany
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. master; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Mitchell W. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1006). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.