- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Halina B., who was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1929. She recalls German invasion; anti-Jewish measures; ghettoization; distracting herself from harsh conditions by reading and dreaming of becoming invisible; her brother disposing of corpses on the Umschlagplatz after deportations; hiding during round-ups; escaping deportation with her mother and brother by bribing a soldier; hiding in a bunker with her mother, brother, and his wife Hela; deportation to Majdanek; separation from her mother and brother; appels, hunger, beatings, selections, and slave labor; fighting to stay with Hela; transfer to Auschwitz/Birkenau; Hela's death; improved conditions after assignment to Canada Kommando; being shot by a guard; recuperating in the infirmary; a death march and train transport to Ravensbrück; transfer to Neustadt-Glewe; disappearance of the Germans; liberation by Soviet troops; returning to Warsaw; reunion with her older brother; joining Hashomer Hatzair; studying in Paris; and emigrating to Israel. Mrs. B. discusses many details and episodes of ghetto and camp life; the importance of her friends to her survival; losing her belief in God in Neustadt-Glewe; physical and psychological scars resulting from her experiences; and writing a book about her experiences.
- Author/Creator
- B., Halina, 1929-
- Published
- Ramat Aviv, Israel : Beth Hatefutsoth, Nahum Goldman Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, 1985-1986
- Interview Date
- October 30, 1985, December 25, 1985, January 22, 1986, February 26, 1986, April 17, 1986, May 20, 1986, and July 14, 1986.
- Locale
- Poland
Warsaw
Warsaw (Poland)
Paris (France)
Palestine
- Cite As
- Halina B. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1806). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Rozner, Raphael, interviewer.
Mahler, Shlomit, interviewer.
Dobkin, Amit, interviewer.
- Notes
-
This testimony is in Hebrew.
Related publication: Hope is the last to die / Halina Birenbaum -- New York : Twayne Publishers, Inc.,c1971.
