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Betsy S. Holocaust testimony (HVT-2986) interviewed by Claire Paulus and Rina Margos,

Oral History | Digitized | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-2986

Overview

Summary: Videotape testimony of Betsy S., who was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1928. She recounts that her parents were Polish immigrants; German invasion in May 1940; her father continuing his business until 1942; meeting her future husband who was involved in the Resistance; going into hiding with her family; their arrest in June 1944; incarceration in Malines; deportation to Birkenau; separation from her father and brother (they did not survive); the trauma of not recognizing her mother after they were shaved; singing French songs while marching to Auschwitz; separation from her mother (she did not survive) when she was transferred to Wilischtal; sabotaging her work in a munitions factory; receiving extra food from German civilian workers; being forced to watch a prisoner publicly beaten to death; evacuation to Theresienstadt in April 1945; receiving Red Cross packages; liberation; transfer to Prague by the Red Cross; and repatriation to Namur. Mrs. S. notes the importance to her survival of being with one friend; fears, loneliness, and continuing sadness resulting from her experiences; and reluctance to discuss these years with her husband and her children.
Author/Creator: S., Betsy, 1928-
Published: Brussels, Belgium : Fondation Auschwitz, 1992
Interview Date: 1992.
Locale: Brussels (Belgium)
Belgium
Prague (Czech Republic)
Namur (Belgium)
Cite As: Betsy S. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-2986). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
Other Authors/Editors: Paulus, Claire, interviewer.
Margos, Rina, interviewer.
Notes: This testimony is in French.

Physical Details

Language: French
Copies: 2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Physical Description: 1 videorecording (1 hr., 37 min.) : col

Keywords & Subjects

Subjects (Local Yale): Aid by non-Jews.
Hiding.
Child survivors.
Postwar experiences.
Postwar effects.
Survivor-child relations.
Subjects: Holocaust survivors. Video tapes. Women. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. Friendship. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Jewish. World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities. Sabotage. Forced labor. World War, 1939-1945--Children. Mothers and daughters. Concentration camps--Psychological aspects. Concentration camps--Sociological aspects. Brussels (Belgium) Belgium. Prague (Czech Republic) Namur (Belgium) Oral histories (document genres) S., Betsy,--1928- International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Auschwitz (Concentration camp) Birkenau (Concentration camp) Theresienstadt (Concentration camp) Malines (Concentration camp)

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/4289941
Record last modified:: 2018-05-29 11:42:00
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt4289941

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