Advanced Search

Learn About The Holocaust

Special Collections

My Saved Research

Login

Register

Help

Skip to main content

David K. Holocaust testimony (HVT-1856) interviewed by Brana Gurewitsch,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-1856

Videotape testimony of David K., who was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia in 1937. He recounts moving to Spišská Nová Ves in 1941; attending cheder; his grandmother's arrest; living with his aunt in another town; conversion to Protestantism with his brother for protection; their placement in a convent orphanage; affection for a sister who cared for him when he was sick; awareness of other Jewish children; warm relations among the Christian and Jewish children; being hidden during German searches; the director's arrest; attending church; his uncle's visit (he was a partisan); evacuation in April 1945 as the front approached; liberation; returning to the orphanage; living with an aunt and uncle in Košice; their emigration to France in 1948; brief residence in Paris, then living in an OSE home near Taverny; and emigrating to Israel in 1949. Mr. K. discusses his brother's reluctance to revert to Judaism and his own rapid reversion; local townspeople's knowledge that Jewish children were in the orphanage; sharing his experiences with his children; his belief that more focus be placed upon people who risked their lives to save Jews; and the importance of individuals who take a stand against malevolent governments or systems. He shows photographs.

Author/Creator
K., David, 1937-
Published
New York, N.Y. : A Living Memorial to the Holocaust-Museum of Jewish Heritage, 1991
Interview Date
May 26, 1991.
Locale
Slovakia
France
Brno (Czech Republic)
Czechoslovakia
Spišská Nová Ves (Slovakia)
Košice (Slovakia)
Paris (France)
Taverny (France)
Israel
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
David K. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1856). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.