Rachel W. Holocaust testimony (HVT-719) interviewed by Gitta Fajerstein and Elizabeth Jacob,

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.