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Irena W. Holocaust testimony (HVT-3662) interviewed by Peter Salner and Eva Salnerová,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-3662

Videotape testimony of Irena W., who was born in Nová Bystrica, in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (presently Slovakia), in 1909. She recalls living in Stará Bystrica; attending Hungarian, then Czech schools; studying in Žilina and Bratislava; working in Petržalka; relocation of her company to Bratislava due to anti-Jewish measures; deportation to Žilina in 1942; escape with assistance from a guard she knew; hiding in Bratislava with assistance from a policeman, then in Ružomberok; marriage; deportation exemption because her husband was a doctor; working as an accountant; hiding her husband's brother; confiscation of her possessions when attending a wedding in Holíč; visiting her niece in Skalica accompanied by the policeman; being rounded-up for deportation; the policeman saving her; hiding with her husband; and living in Michalovce, Krompachy, and Spišská Nova Ves. Mrs. W. discusses unsuccessfully attempting to obtain compensation for her family property after liberation; the deportation and deaths of most of her family; having converted prior to the war, but not benefitting from it; and imprisonment of the guard who helped her escape despite her letter of support.

Author/Creator
W., Irena, 1909-
Published
Bratislava, Slovakia : Milan Šimečka Foundation, 1995
Interview Date
February 26, 1995.
Locale
Austria
Stará Bystrica (Slovakia)
Nová Bystrica (Slovakia)
Žilina (Slovakia)
Bratislava (Slovakia)
Petržalka (Bratislava, Slovakia)
Michalovce (Slovakia)
Spišská Nová Ves (Slovakia)
Ružomberok (Slovakia)
Skalica (Slovakia)
Krompachy (Slovakia)
Holíč (Slovakia)
Language
Slovak
Copies
3 copies: Betacam SP dub; 1/2 in. VHS dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Irena W. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-3662). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.