Ben N. Holocaust testimony (HVT-358) interviewed by Toby Lewis,
Videotape testimony of Ben N., who was born in approximately 1925 in Łącko, Poland, one of five children. He recalls his family's orthodoxy; cordial relations with non-Jews; German invasion in 1939; fleeing east to Ustrzyki Dolne; returning home via Biecz and Gorlice; German establishment of a Judenrat; evacuation with his family to Nowy Sącz in late 1940; sneaking home to obtain food from non-Jewish friends; transfer to Roznow; slave labor; visiting his family; their deportation (he never saw them again); transfer to the Tarńow ghetto in 1942; training with a cabinet maker who postponed his deportation; transfer with him to Płaszów; mass shootings; transfer to Auschwitz/Birkenau in spring 1943; assignment to a woodworking factory; assistance from Polish prisoners (one was a friend's father); sharing extra food with his friends; the stench of burning flesh; transfer to Rajsko; a death march and train transfer to Mauthausen in November 1944; assisting his friend on the death march; their transfer to Ebensee; his friend's suicide; liberation by United States troops; traveling to Salzburg; working for the U.S. military; contacting relatives in the United States through the Red Cross; emigration to join them in 1946 via Munich and Bremerhaven; assistance from HIAS; and marriage in 1948. Mr. N. discusses never volunteering in camps; surviving to tell of his friend who had committed suicide; sleep difficulties resulting from his experiences; pervasive painful memories; and his cousins' unwillingness to hear about his experiences.
- Published
- Cleveland, Ohio : National Council of Jewish Women, Holocaust Archive Project, 1984
- Interview Date
- July 18, 1984.
- Locale
- Poland
Tarnów (Województwo Małopolskie)
Łącko (Poland)
Ustrzyki Dolne (Poland)
Biecz (Poland)
Gorlice (Poland)
Nowy Sącz (Poland)
Salzburg (Austria)
Munich (Germany)
Bremerhaven (Germany) - Language
-
English
- Copies
- 2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
- Cite As
- Ben N. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-358). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
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View in Yale University Library Catalog: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/4293649
Record last modified: 2018-06-04 13:25:00
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt4293649