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Rudy B. Holocaust testimony (HVT-1776) interviewed by Michael Alpert,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-1776

Videotape testimony of Rudy B., who was born in Berlin, Germany in 1912. He recalls encountering "genteel" antisemitism before 1933; moving to Amsterdam immediately after Hitler's election; getting his parents and younger brother to Holland (his mother died prior to German invasion, his father in a concentration camp, and his brother emigrated to the United States); joining the Dutch military; escaping with a friend in 1941; traveling to Geneva via Lyon and Lons-le-Saunier; imprisonment; release after intervention by the Dutch consul; traveling to England using false papers via Marseille, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, and Gibraltar; commando training in Scotland; serving in Burma; being wounded; recovering in India; returning to England; meeting with the Dutch queen; training Dutch underground forces in eastern Holland; returning to England after liberation; interrogating German prisoners in Spandau prison; serving in Borneo; and emigrating to the United States in 1947. Mr. B. notes his older brother perished in a concentration camp. He discusses his military and underground activities; encounters with the Dutch prince; reluctance of German and Dutch Jews to grasp the dangers of Nazism; and the importance of fighting antisemitism, both on a personal and collective basis. He shows photographs and memorabilia.

Author/Creator
B., Rudy, 1912-
Published
New York, N.Y. : A Living Memorial to the Holocaust-Museum of Jewish Heritage, 1990
Interview Date
December 11, 1990.
Locale
Netherlands
Germany
Berlin (Germany)
Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Lyon (France)
Lons-le-Saunier (France)
Geneva (Switzerland)
Marseille (France)
Barcelona (Spain)
Madrid (Spain)
Seville (Spain)
Gibraltar
England
Scotland
Burma
India
Borneo
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Rudy B. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1776). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.