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Leon F. Holocaust testimony (HVT-2903) interviewed by Naomi Rappaport,

Oral History | Digitized | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-2903

Overview

Summary: Videotape of Leon F., who was born in Białystok, Poland in 1919. He remembers the vibrant Jewish community; Polish antisemitism; brief German occupation, then Soviet occupation; German invasion in June 1941; Germans burning Jews alive in the synagogue and Jewish quarter; his family's rescue by a Pole; ghettoization; forced labor; escaping from a round-up in which his father was killed; the Judenrat organizing a transfer to the Pruzh︠a︡ny ghetto for him, his mother, and one sister; obtaining food from non-Jewish farmers; liquidation of the ghetto in January 1943; deportation to Auschwitz; separation from his mother and sister (he never saw them again); abusive kapos; hospitalization; surviving selections with help from other prisoners; evacuation to Sachsenhausen, then Ohrdruf; the death march to Buchenwald; liberation by United States troops; and not taking revenge on guards due to his weakness. Mr. F. recalls a hospital convalescence; revenging himself by beating several Germans; transfer to Landsberg displaced persons camp; help from the Joint; emigrating to the United States; and marriage. He discusses not sharing his experiences with his children, wanting them to be "normal"; later responding to his son's desire to know; a recent trip to Poland with his son; and dreams about his past.
Author/Creator: F., Leon, 1919-
Published: New York, N.Y. : A Living Memorial to the Holocaust-Museum of Jewish Heritage, 1994
Interview Date: May 23, 1994.
Locale: Poland
Białystok
Belarus
Pruz︠h︡any
Białystok (Poland)
Cite As: Leon F. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-2903). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
Other Authors/Editors: Rappaport, Naomi, interviewer.

Physical Details

Language: English
Copies: 2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Physical Description: 1 videorecording (1 hr. 49 min.) : col

Keywords & Subjects

Subjects (Local Yale): Antisemitism Prewar.
Soviet occupation.
Mass killings.
Aid by non-Jews.
Mutual aid.
Postwar effects.
Postwar experiences.
Survivor-child relations.
Hospitals in concentration camps.
Subjects: Holocaust survivors. Video tapes. Men. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Jewish. World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities. Jewish ghettos. Jews--Poland--Białystok. Jews--Belarus--Pruz︠h︡any. Escapes. Forced labor. Jewish councils. Death marches. Revenge. Poland. Białystok (Poland) Oral histories (document genres) Refugee camps. F., Leon,--1919- Auschwitz (Concentration camp) Sachsenhausen (Concentration camp) Ohrdruf (Concentration camp) Buchenwald (Concentration camp) Landsberg am Lech (Displaced persons camp) American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

Administrative Notes

Holder of Originals: Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
Special Collection: Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies

Link to Yale University Library Catalog:: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/4289218
Record last modified:: 2018-05-29 11:42:00
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt4289218

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