Overview
- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Joseph C., who was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1926. He recalls poverty; his family's Hasidism; German invasion; anti-Jewish restrictions; ghettoization; arrest by Jewish police for taking bread from the garbage; fleeing with a friend to Praga, Dęblin, and Kurów; slave labor; kindness from one German soldier; returning to Warsaw; learning his father and one sister had died; deportation to Treblinka; escaping to a work group; gassings and mass shootings; a visit by Heinrich Himmler; vicious personnel, including John Demjanjuk, Franz Stangl, and Kurt Franz ("Lalka"); a severe beating; obtaining a privileged job; prisoners baking matzos at Passover; and arrival of Warsaw ghetto resistants in May 1943. Mr. C. recounts fleeing during the August 1943 rebellion; hiding in the woods and on a farm with help from a Pole; escaping execution by the AK; capture by German troops in 1945; transport to Bergen-Belsen; sabotaging German military uniforms; witnessing the birth of a child who was immediately killed; liberation by British troops; several months hospitalization; reunion with a cousin; living in the Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp; emigration to Palestine; marriage to a survivor; and service in the Israel-Arab War of 1948. He discusses Nazi dehumanizing techniques and psychological manipulation; nightmares; and the trauma of reliving his experiences while testifying.
- Published
- Ramat Aviv, Israel : Beth Hatefutsoth, Nahum Goldman Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, 1985
- Interview Date
- January 10, 1985.
- Locale
- Poland
Warsaw
Warsaw (Poland)
Dęblin (Warsaw, Poland)
Kurów (Lublin, Poland)
Praga (Warsaw, Poland)
Palestine - Cite As
- Josef C. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1065). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Notes
-
This testimony is in Hebrew.
Physical Details
- Language
- Hebrew
- Copies
- 2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
- Physical Description
- 1 videorecording (6 hrs., 10 min.) : col
Keywords & Subjects
- Subjects (Local Yale)
- Aid by non-Jews.
Child survivors.
Childbirth in concentration camps.
Concentration camps Revolts.
Concentration camps Underground movements.
Hiding.
Mass killings.
Mutual aid.
Partisans.
Postwar effects.
Postwar experiences.
Resistance. - Subjects
- Holocaust survivors. Video tapes. Men. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Jewish. Concentration camp inmates--Religious life. Concentration camps--Psychological aspects. Concentration camps--Sociological aspects. Nightmares. Escapes. Forced labor. Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949--Personal narratives. Jews--Poland--Warsaw. Revenge. Jewish ghettos. World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities. World War, 1939-1945--Children. World War, 1939-1945--Underground movements--Poland. Sabotage. Poland. Warsaw (Poland) Dęblin (Warsaw, Poland) Kurów (Lublin, Poland) Praga (Warsaw, Poland) Palestine--Emigration and immigration. Oral histories (document genres) Refugee camps. C., Josef,--1926- Franz, Kurt. Himmler, Heinrich,--1900-1945. Demjanjuk, John. Stangl, Franz. Treblinka (Concentration camp) Bergen-Belsen (Concentration camp) DP-Camp Bergen-Belsen. Poland.--Polskie Siły Zbrojne.--Armia Krajowa.
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/4282938
- Record last modified:
- 2018-06-04 13:28:00
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt4282938
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