Advanced Search

Learn About The Holocaust

Special Collections

My Saved Research

Login

Register

Help

Skip to main content

David E. Holocaust testimony (HVT-3047) interviewed by Ernest Forrai,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-3047

Videotape testimony of David E., who was born in Gherla, Romania in 1926, one of five children. He recounts his family's long history there; a large extended family; Hungarian occupation in 1941; anti-Jewish laws; expulsion from school; two years training as a furniture maker; deportation to a ghetto in 1944, then to Auschwitz after four weeks; separation from his family (he never saw them again); volunteering as a cabinet maker, which saved his life; improved conditions and additional food; receiving extra food and a better assignment from an SS man; friendship with a co-worker (they remain friends to the present); the death march in winter 1945; separation from his friend; transport to Mauthausen, Melk (his brothers had just perished there), then Ebensee; encountering people from his hometown; liberation by United States troops; returning home; reunion with his sister; traveling to Budapest with Beriḥah; leaving due to his lack of Zionist aspirations; traveling to Paris; working as a cabinet maker; emigration to Canada in 1947; assistance from the Canadian Jewish Congress; and bringing his sister and her family there in 1950. Mr. E. notes he told his story once to his wife and has not shared it with his children.

Author/Creator
E., David, 1926-
Published
Vancouver, B.C. : Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society, 1983
Interview Date
September 28, 1983.
Locale
Gherla (Romania)
Budapest (Hungary)
Paris (France)
Romania
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
David E. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-3047). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.