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Emmanuel D. Holocaust testimony (HVT-2118) interviewed by Gillian Green Douek,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-2118

Videotape testimony of Emmanuel D., who was born in Rzeszów, Poland in 1916. He recalls moving to Tarnów in 1926; attending school; beginning to work at age thirteen; his father's death in 1932; his leadership in the Bund; German invasion; escaping east; assistance from Jews in Berestechko; traveling to L'viv via Tauteny; significant earnings in the black market; returning to Tarnów in 1940 to assist his mother; deportation to Pustkow in September; slave labor building the camp; a privileged position as a tailor; occasional visits to his mother; SS assumption of the camp in 1943; harsher conditions; organizing a play in their barrack; transfer to Auschwitz/Birkenau in June 1944, then to Gleiwitz two weeks later; a death march in January 1945; escaping in a group of six (two were killed); liberation by Soviets in the forest; traveling to Częstochowa, Kraków, then Tarnów; one brother's return; marriage; his daughter's birth in 1946; participation in the Bund; emigration to London; and his son's birth in 1953. Mr. D. discusses details of camp life; the importance of friends to his survival; relations between individuals and ethnic and religious groups; and continuing friendships with camp survivors and prewar friends all over the world.

Author/Creator
D., Emmanuel, 1916-
Published
London, England : British Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, 1992
Interview Date
September 23, 1992.
Locale
Kraków (Poland)
Częstochowa (Poland)
Lʹviv (Ukraine)
Tauteny (Ukraine)
Berestechko (Ukraine)
Tarnów (Województwo Małopolskie, Poland)
Rzeszów (Poland)
Poland
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Emmanuel D. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-2118). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.