Overview
- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Eric S., who was born in Šumperk, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1916. He recalls attending public school; religious instruction by a rabbi; active participation in a Zionist group; his father's death in 1933; attending university in 1934; German occupation; forced expulsion from their town; imprisonment for six weeks in 1940; marriage; living in a village; deportation with his wife and mother to Theresienstadt in May 1942; a privileged position since he knew several leaders; working in the gardens; smuggling food; learning deportation meant death; deteriorating conditions; deportation to Auschwitz in fall 1944 (he never saw his mother or wife again); transfer to a Bavarian slave labor camp in early 1945; train evacuation; escape with many others; liberation by United States troops; living in Munich; returning to Prague; marriage in 1947; and emigration to Canada in 1947. Mr. S. discusses Theresienstadt's prisoner administration; numbness in Auschwitz; and a recent trip to Czechoslovakia with his children, which helped them to better understand his background.
- Published
- Vancouver, B.C. : Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society, 1984
- Interview Date
- December 5, 1984.
- Locale
- Austria
Šumperk (Czech Republic)
Munich (Germany)
Prague (Czech Republic) - Cite As
- Eric S. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-3073). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- Copies
- 2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
- Physical Description
- 1 videorecording (2 hr., 7 min.) : col
Keywords & Subjects
- Subjects (Local Yale)
- Survivor-child relations.
Wife Death.
Postwar experiences.
Mutual aid. - Subjects
- Holocaust survivors. Video tapes. Men. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Jewish. Zionists. World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, German. Husband and wife. Mothers and sons. Forced labor. Escapes. Concentration camps--Sociological aspects. Concentration camps--Psychological aspects. Austria. Šumperk (Czech Republic) Munich (Germany) Prague (Czech Republic) Oral histories (document genres) S., Eric,--1916- Theresienstadt (Concentration camp) Auschwitz (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/4290312
- Record last modified:
- 2020-04-03 11:36:00
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt4290312
Additional Resources
Librarian ViewDownload & Licensing
- Terms of Use
- This record is digitized but cannot be downloaded online.
In-Person Research
- Requires Research Visit
- Plan a Research Visit
- Find Viewing Location
Request Access from Yale University Libraries
- Requires Yale University Libraries Permission
- Accessing Fortunoff interviews
- Log in to Request and View
- About the Fortunoff Archive