- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Jacques G., who was born in Athens, Greece in 1912. He recalls moving to Thessalonikē; his father's Italian citizenship; German invasion; marriage in 1943; moving to Athens with his family due to their citizenship; benign conditions under Italian occupation; Italian capitulation in fall 1943; deportation with his family to Auschwitz in April 1944; selection with his brother for the Sonderkommando; working with him in Crematorium II moving bodies; a friend committing suicide on an open pyre; visiting his wife twice in the women's camp; bringing her food; recognizing two cousins who were to be gassed; giving them food and telling them where to stand in the gas chamber to avoid pain; placing their ashes in labeled jars; the October 1944 uprising in Crematorium IV; having to cremate the bodies of those who revolted; surreptitiously joining the death march in January 1944 (he and his group were to be killed); incarceration in Mauthausen and Gusen; liberation in May; returning to Greece; reunion with his wife; and emigration to Israel in 1949. Mr. G. discusses camaraderie within the Sonderkommando; prisoners who prayed daily; his optimism; keeping a diary which he left in Auschwitz; and sharing his story with his daughter and grandchildren.
- Author/Creator
- G., Jacques, 1912-
- Published
- Ramat Aviv, Israel : Beth Hatefutsoth, Nahum Goldman Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, 1988
- Interview Date
- June 30, 1988.
- Locale
- Greece
Athens (Greece)
Thessalonikē (Greece)
- Cite As
- Jacques G. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1836). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Tarsi, Anita, interviewer.
Berlatzky, Iris, interviewer.
- Notes
-
This testimony is in Hebrew.
