- Summary
- Videotape testimony of André R., a Roman Catholic, who was born in Villefagnan, France in 1921. He recalls his childhood in Angoulême; German invasion in 1940; protesting anti-Jewish restrictions in 1942; joining the Resistance in Paris; escaping to the Pyrenees in 1943 using false papers; arrest in Dax; interrogations in Biarritz; imprisonment in Bayonne and Bordeaux; transfer to Compiègne in September; deportation to Buchenwald in October; transfer to Dora, then Majdanek, in February 1944; transport to Auschwitz in April; assistance from a Polish doctor; working near the crematoria in Birkenau; secretly celebrating Christmas; observing prisoners who were used in "medical" experiments; liquidation of the Zigeunerlager (Gypsy Lager); the death march in January 1945; transport to Gross-Rosen, Nordhausen, Dora, then Harzungen; escaping from a death march in April; liberation by United States troops; repatriation to Paris; reunion with his family in Angoulême; attending the French military academy; marriage; and military service until his retirement. Mr. R. discusses the importance to his survival of his religious faith, friends, and help from others; writing a book about his experiences immediately after liberation; contacting families of prisoners who perished; and the collaboration of the Vichy government and others in France.
- Author/Creator
- R., André, 1921-
- Published
- Paris, France : Témoignages pour mémoire, 1994
- Interview Date
- March 18, 1994.
- Locale
- France
Villefagnan (France)
Angoulême (France)
Paris (France)
Dax (France)
Biarritz (France)
- Cite As
- André R. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-2849). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Borlant, Henri, interviewer.
Wieviorka, Rachel, interviewer.
- Notes
-
This testimony is in French.
Related publication: Vivre c'est vaincre / André Rogerie.
