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Howard W. Holocaust testimony (HVT-2066) interviewed by Judit Jung and Susanna Newman,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-2066

Videotape testimony of Howard W., who was born in Berlin, Germany in 1920. He recalls his family's strong German patriotism; their sense that nothing bad could happen to them in Germany; increased antisemitism following Hitler's ascent to power; Kristallnacht; expulsion from school; arrest; incarceration in Oranienburg; release due to intervention from his father's friend and a promise to leave Germany; traveling to Bratislava; detention in Patronka while awaiting a ship to Palestine; two months traveling on the Danube and Black Sea; severe weather; being shipwrecked on Kamilonisi; rescue by the Italian Navy; detention on Rhodes; receiving a Cuban visa in Rome; living in Rome, Milan, and Bologna; gathering information on German troop movements for the Vatican by eavesdropping at brothels frequented by German military; fleeing to Spain; arrest in Barcelona for submitting a false visa; help from the British embassy due to his espionage activities; traveling to Portugal; and arrival in Palestine in 1944. Mr. W. discusses recurring nightmares; learning his parents and brother had perished in Auschwitz; marriage; and emigration to the United States. He shows photographs.

Author/Creator
W., Howard, 1920-
Published
New York, N.Y. : A Living Memorial to the Holocaust-Museum of Jewish Heritage, 1992
Interview Date
April 27, 1992.
Locale
Vatican City
Greece
Germany
Berlin (Germany)
Bratislava (Slovakia)
Kamilonisi (Greece)
Rhodes (Greece)
Rome (Italy)
Milan (Italy)
Bologna (Italy)
Barcelona (Spain)
Portugal
Palestine
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Howard W. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-2066). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.