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Adam S. Holocaust testimony (HVT-1238) interviewed by Nancy Kislin and Bernard Weinstein,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-1238

Videotape testimony of Adam S., who was born in Warsaw, Poland (then Russia) in 1905. He recounts growing up in Łódź; his family identifying themselves with Polish, not Jewish culture; his brother's execution and his father's imprisonment during the Russian Revolution; obtaining a degree in electrical engineering; retuning to Warsaw; employment by the government beginning in 1931; increasing antisemitism; German invasion; evacuation with his wife and daughter to Romania due to his employment status; volunteering for the Polish military in France; separation from his family; German invasion; internment as a prisoner-of-war in Belfort; separation of Jewish prisoners; forced labor gathering munitions; transfer to Stalag XVII A; relatively benign conditions due to the decency of the Germans overseeing them; transfers to several camps; receiving packages from his family; learning of the Warsaw ghetto uprising and realizing his family had likely been killed; transfer to Germany in February 1945; abandonment by Germans; liberation by United States troops; hospitalization in Strasbourg; reunion with his wife and daughter; attending Yom Kippur services in Nice; and emigration to the United States. Mr. S. discusses his wife's and daughter's experiences in hiding; his father's death in the Warsaw ghetto; and his sister's execution as a Polish Communist official in Stalin's purges.

Author/Creator
S., Adam, 1905-
Published
Union, N.J. : Kean College Oral Testimonies Project, 1988
Interview Date
February 4, 1988.
Locale
France
Austria
Russia
Warsaw (Poland)
Łódź (Poland)
Romania
Belfort (France)
Strasbourg (France)
Nice (France)
Language
English
Copies
4 copies: 3/4 in. dub; Betacam SP restoration master; Betacam SP restoration submaster; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Adam S. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1238). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.