- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Léon P., who was born in Meurthe-et-Moselle, France to Polish immigrants in 1933. He recalls his father volunteering for military service in 1939; evacuation with his mother and brother to Gironde; living there for two years (his father was a POW in Germany); joining his aunt and uncle in Paris in 1943; his mother's belief that his father's POW status would protect them; their arrest in February 1944; incarceration in Drancy; deportation to Bergen-Belsen in May; remaining with his mother and brother; living with death and killing becoming “normal”; train evacuation in spring 1945; liberation by Soviet troops in Tröbitz; his mother's death and burial; recuperating from typhus; transfer with his brother to United States authorities; repatriation with his brother; reunion with their father at Hotel Lutetia; attending school; and his father's remarriage. Mr. P. notes his reluctance to discuss his experiences with non-survivors; gradually sharing his story with relatives; dismay that testimonies were not collected earlier; and his belief that his experiences changed him internally, but did not impact his Jewish identity.
- Author/Creator
- P., Léon, 1933-
- Published
- Paris, France : Témoignages pour mémoire, 1995
- Interview Date
- March 11, 1995.
- Locale
- France
Meurthe-et-Moselle (France)
Gironde (France)
Paris (France)
Tröbitz (Germany)
- Cite As
- Léon P. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-3224). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Burko-Falcman, Berthe, interviewer.
Lacombe, Liliane, interviewer.
- Notes
-
This testimony is in French.