- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Meir S., who was born in Rădăuți, Romania in 1928. He recalls visits to his grandparents in a nearby village; antisemitic harassment by other students; his sister's birth in about 1939; moving to Soviet-occupied Chernivt︠s︡i in 1940; attending school; German invasion in 1941; ghettoization; forced labor with other children; train deportation to the Dniester River; several weeks on a forced march to Bershadʹ; many deaths en route; assisting his father make candies and selling them; his mother's disappearance (for a long time he harbored hope she survived); his father's death from typhus; living with an aunt and her five year old daughter; his aunt's death; his own severe illness; his cousin's death; placement with his sister in an orphanage; transfer to an orphanage in Balta in winter 1942; his sister's death on Yom Kippur 1943; clandestinely leaving the ghetto orphanage to obtain extra food from nearby Italian soldiers for whom he and others from the orphanage did errands; sharing it with the other children; celebrating holidays; train transfer with other children in March 1944 to Iași; wonderful treatment by the local Jews; transfer to Bacāu, then to an orphanage in Bucharest for a few months; departure for Israel in December 1944; living with an aunt until 1948; military enlistment; and remaining in the army until 1972. Mr. S. notes his very poor health for some time after the war resulting from his wartime starvation and illnesses; his relatives helping him overcome emotional problems; visiting his home in Romania, the only “memorial” or “grave” he has for his family; and sharing his story (not in detail) with his wife and son, but not with others.
- Author/Creator
- S., Meir, 1928-
- Published
- Ramat Aviv, Israel : Beth Hatefutsoth, Nahum Goldman Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, 1986
- Interview Date
- July 24, 1986 and September 12, 1986.
- Locale
- Ukraine
Chernivt︠s︡i.
Balta
Romania
Rădăuți (Romania)
Chernivt︠s︡i (Ukraine)
Dniester River Valley (Ukraine and Moldova)
Bershadʹ (Ukraine)
Balta (Ukraine)
Iași (Romania)
Bacău (Romania)
Bucharest (Romania)
- Cite As
- Meir S. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1823). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Tarsi, Anita, interviewer.
Ani, Harold, interviewer.
- Notes
-
This testimony is in Hebrew.
