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Celina F. Holocaust testimony (HVT-1954) interviewed by Ronnie Morgan and Lidya Osadchey,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-1954

Videotape testimony of Celina F., who was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1925, one of nine children. She recalls pervasive antisemitism; German invasion; the bombing of their home; beatings of Jews including her brother; moving to Koprzywnica with her mother; returning to Warsaw to rejoin their family; ghettoization; round-ups; deaths from starvation; deciding to escape despite not wanting to leave her family; traveling to Koprzywnica, then to Sandomierz; staying with a Jewish family; escaping during a round-up; hiding with a Polish family; returning to the Warsaw ghetto; learning her family had been deported except for one brother and sister and their families; escaping to Lublin; obtaining false papers; and deciding to work in Germany, believing safety was "in the mouth of the lion." Mrs. F. recounts working as a domestic in Wittlich for Nazis; working as an interpreter for the Gestapo; securing papers and a job for her aunt; constant fear of exposure; liberation by United States troops; moving to a displaced persons camp in Trier; returning to Poland; finding her nephew; living in Munich, then Neu Freimann; marriage; and emigration to the United States. She discusses the impact of her experiences on her life and shows family photographs.

Author/Creator
F., Celina, 1925-
Published
Houston, Tex. : Holocaust Education Center and Memorial Museum of Houston, 1991
Interview Date
October 8, 1991.
Locale
Poland
Warsaw
Warsaw (Poland)
Sandomierz (Poland)
Wittlich (Germany)
Munich (Germany)
Lublin (Poland)
Koprzywnica (Poland)
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Celina F. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1954). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
 
View in Yale University Library Catalog: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/4285386
Record last modified: 2018-05-30 11:44:00
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt4285386