- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Rachel W., who was born in Antwerp, Belgium in 1938. She recalls her father being taken away when she and her mother were out; her mother taking her to non-Jews to live, then, shortly afterwards, to a convent in Brussels; abusive treatment because she did not eat well and wet her bed; occasional visits from her mother; asking to leave and not being told why she had to stay; her mother taking her out in order to illegally enter Switzerland; being caught by Germans at the border; a stranger paying the Germans to release them; living in a Jewish pension in Switzerland; returning to Belgium in 1946; realizing that her father would not return; her mother's marriage to an Auschwitz survivor; abusive treatment by her stepfather; her brother's birth; antisemitic harassment; their emigration to the United States in 1951; attending school; and marriage at age nineteen. Ms. W. discusses her pervasive fears and unhappiness resulting from her experiences; seldom discussing her experiences with her mother; raising her children to feel loved and secure; recently seeking treatment for her emotional problems and their slow improvement; and a warm, loving relationship with her children and grandchildren.
- Author/Creator
- W., Rachel, 1938-
- Published
- Wilmette, Ill. : Holocaust Education Foundation, 1994
- Interview Date
- October 9, 1994.
- Locale
- Belgium
Antwerp (Belgium)
Brussels (Belgium)
Switzerland
- Cite As
- Rachel W. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-719). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Fajerstein, Gitta, interviewer.
Jacob, Elizabeth, interviewer.
