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Victor M. Holocaust testimony (HVT-3115) interviewed by Claire Gausset and Bellina Welner,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-3115

Videotape testimony of Victor M., a non-Jew, who was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1925. He recalls his family's strong patriotism; German invasion on May 10, 1940; fleeing with his father and uncle to Versailles, Limoges, and other French cities; returning to Brussels in mid-August; joining the Resistance; passing university entrance exams; arrest with others in his group in August 1944; incarceration in St. Gilles; receiving Red Cross parcels; transfer to Neuengamme; slave labor outside the camp; remaining with his friends; transfer in September 1944 to Schandelah; his privileged position as a translator; solidarity among small groups according to nationality; homosexual advances from kapos; working in the kitchen; providing food to friends; train evacuation in April 1945 to a camp in eastern Germany; prisoner rivalries among nationality groups; liberation by United States troops; staying briefly in Ludwigslust; repatriation to Brussels; and reunion with his parents. Mr. M. reads passages from a friend's camp journal and notes that, when arrested, he and his friends expected the war to end soon and were unaware of what awaited them.

Author/Creator
M., Victor, 1925-
Published
Brussels, Belgium : Fondation Auschwitz, 1993
Interview Date
July 12, 1993.
Locale
Belgium
Brussels (Belgium)
Versailles (France)
Limoges (France)
Ludwigslust (Germany : Landkreis)
Language
French
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Victor M. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-3115). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.