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Ben N. Holocaust testimony (HVT-358) interviewed by Toby Lewis,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-358

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.

Author/Creator
N., Ben, 1925?-
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.