- Summary
- Videotape testimony of André U., who was born in Besançon, France in 1914, the youngest of five children. He recalls his family's strong Jewish identity and French patriotism; antisemitic harassment; attending law school in Dijon in 1934, then finishing in Paris in 1937; enlisting in the military; postings to several locations; retreating when the Germans invaded; capture as a prisoner of war; escaping to Besançon; traveling to Paris; joining his family in the unoccupied zone in Lyon; joining the Francs-tireurs resistance; creating false papers for others; attending a reunion of his military unit in 1942; his election as vice-president; bringing his parents to Ennezat to prevent their deportation; capture as a Resistant; imprisonment in Montpellier; transfer to Compiègne, then two days later to the Jewish section where conditions were much worse; transfer to Drancy; attending Jewish services; saving women from deportation by replacing their identity cards; participating in building an escape tunnel; not being caught with the other “builders,” most of whom were deported; organizing to bring extra food into the camp; serious health issues; transfer to a hospital in May 1944; planning to blow up a train with his nephew; obtaining explosive chemicals from the hospital; learning his nephew had been killed; and returning to Drancy immediately prior to its liberation.
- Author/Creator
- U., André, 1914-
- Published
- Paris, France : Témoignages pour mémoire, 1993
- Interview Date
- April 1, 1993.
- Locale
- France
Besançon (France)
Dijon (France)
Paris (France)
Lyon (France)
Ennezat (France)
- Cite As
- André U. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-2675). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Barzman, John, interviewer.
Drame, Claudine, interviewer.
- Notes
-
This testimony is in French.