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Dina B. Holocaust testimony (HVT-1787) interviewed by Kathy Strochlic and Pam Goodman,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-1787

Videotape testimony of Dina B., who was born in Tylicz, Poland in 1922. She recalls her family's orthodoxy; the small, impoverished Jewish community's cordial relations with non-Jews; one sister's emigration to the United States; German invasion in 1939; antisemitic violence; her parent's arranging for her illegal emigration, with her sister, to Slovakia in January 1941; living in Bratislava and Humenné; deportations; declining to be hidden by a Christian stranger in order to remain with her sisters; deportation to Auschwitz; reunion with her sister; their transfer to Birkenau after a few months; surviving selections with her sister's help; her sister arranging easier jobs for them and hiding her when she was ill; receiving extra food from Polish workers; transfer to Auschwitz a year later; improved conditions; working in the laundry for two years; the death march in January 1945; train transport to Ravensbrück; transfer to Neustadt-Glewe three weeks later; burying corpses; liberation; traveling to Amsterdam; employment by the Red Cross; marriage; and emigration to the United States in 1962. Mrs. B. notes the importance to her survival of her sister's aggressiveness and their hope that their parents had survived (they did not); her own passiveness; and discussing their experiences with each other and their children. She shows photographs.

Author/Creator
B., Dina, 1922-
Published
New York, N.Y. : A Living Memorial to the Holocaust-Museum of Jewish Heritage, 1991
Interview Date
April 23,1991.
Locale
Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Tylicz (Poland)
Poland
Bratislava (Slovakia)
Humenné (Slovakia)
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Dina B. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1787). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.