Meir R. Holocaust testimony (HVT-2570) interviewed by Alizah Brozgold

Videotape testimony of Meir R., who was born in Ia̦si, Romania in 1931. He recounts his parents' deaths; placement in a Jewish orphanage when he was five; attending Romanian school; antisemitic incidents; German occupation; anti-Jewish measures; witnessing a mass killing of Jews by Romanians; forced labor; relative safety in the orphanage due to Red Cross protection; being terrorized by an SS soldier; liberation by Soviet troops in 1944; placement with a family in Bucharest; acting as a courier for the underground; traveling to Constanța in order to emigrate to Palestine; joining an illegal ship; stopping in Istanbul; receiving aid from the Jewish community there; arrival in Palestine in 1944; living on kibbutzim; fighting in the War of Independence; service in the merchant marine; moving to South Africa; marriage to a non-Jew; emigration to the United States; divorce; and remarriage. Mr. R. notes he did not share his experiences until a recent car accident which resulted in painful memories and nightmares; undergoing therapy; and realizing that sharing his experiences diminishes his pain. He shows photographs.