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Abram M. Holocaust testimony (HVT-1720) interviewed by Devorah Mann,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-1720

Videotape testimony of Abram M., who was born in Łódź, Poland in 1923. He recalls living in a non-Jewish neighborhood; antisemitic harassment; German invasion; ghettoization; forced labor; starvation; organizing an orchestra and performances; deportation to Auschwitz in 1944; separation from all but his father; their transfer three days later to Kaufering and Landsberg; bringing his father extra food when possible; useless slave labor; his father's death; transfer to Dachau; liberation by United States troops; reunion with three surviving brothers; living in Feldafing, then Munich; learning to play the violin; emigration with one brother to the United States in 1949; visiting his brother in Israel in 1961; and meeting his wife. He discusses his parents' focus on charity and trying to emulate them; encounters with Ḥayim Rumokwski, the Jewish ghetto head, and believing he helped the Jews; nightmares resulting from his experiences; the dehumanizing impact of starvation; guilt that he could not help his father more; wanting to die in the camps; and only recently sharing his story with his wife and children. He shows photographs and plays Yiddish songs on the violin.

Author/Creator
M., Abram, 1923-
Published
New York, N.Y. : A Living Memorial to the Holocaust-Museum of Jewish Heritage, 1990
Interview Date
December 2, 1990.
Locale
Poland
Łódź
Łódź (Poland)
Munich (Germany)
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Abram M. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1720). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.