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Chaim K. Holocaust testimony (HVT-3058) interviewed by Ernest Forrai,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-3058

Videotape testimony of Chaim K., who was born in Sátoraljaújhely, Hungary in 1926, the youngest of eight children. He recalls extreme poverty in an orthodox home; attending yeshiva; pervasive antisemitism; two brothers serving in Hungarian forced labor battalions; German occupation in March 1944; ghettoization; deportation to Auschwitz in April; separation from his parents upon arrival (he never saw them again); transfer to Mauthausen four days later; slave labor constructing underground factories in Gusen; assistance from a German guard; being carried by a friend on the death march to Mauthausen; liberation by United States troops in May 1945; recuperating in Gusen; returning home via Vienna and Budapest, with assistance from the Joint; reunion with his sister in Sátoraljaújhely; studying in Budapest; emigrating to Israel in 1948; and joining his brother in Montreal in 1953. Mr. K. discusses conducting services and praying in concentration camps; the importance of faith to his survival; choosing not to take revenge after the war; and sharing his experiences with his children.

Author/Creator
K., Chaim, 1926-
Published
Vancouver, B.C. : Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society, 1984
Interview Date
February 29, 1984.
Locale
Hungary
Sátoraljaújhely
Sátoraljaújhely (Hungary)
Vienna (Austria)
Budapest (Hungary)
Israel
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Chaim K. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-3058). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.