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Lily B. Holocaust testimony (HVT-2140) interviewed by David Herman,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-2140

Videotape testimony of Lily B., who was born in Trautenau, Czechoslovakia (presently Trutnov) in 1923. She recalls her family's affluence; cordial relations with non-Jews; German annexation of Sudentenland; fleeing to Hradec Králové in September 1938; moving to Prague; German occupation in March 1939; anti-Jewish restrictions; her brother's emigration to Palestine; not believing rumors of atrocities in Poland; deportation with her parents and grandmother to Theresienstadt in August 1942; her grandmother's death shortly thereafter; constant lines for food, washrooms, and toilets; overcrowding and no privacy; the Germans having her father establish a toy factory; working there; twice weekly transports to Auschwitz/Birkenau; not knowing the implications of them; temporary improvements during a Red Cross visit; baking matzo in spring 1945; working in the bakery, thus obtaining additional food; receiving food packages from an uncle in London; arrival of debilitated prisoners in horrendous condition from other camps; liberation by Soviet troops; returning to Prague, then Trautenau; feeling unwelcome as Jews; difficulty recovering their house from a collaborator who was later hanged; her brother's 1947 visit; communist takeover; moving to Vienna; visiting relatives in London; marriage and emigration to England in 1949; and her father's successful business in Vienna. Ms. B. questions the existence of a God who could let the Holocaust happen.

Author/Creator
B., Lily, 1923-
Published
London, England : British Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, 1992
Interview Date
June 4, 1992.
Locale
Czechoslovakia
Hradec Králové (Czech Republic)
Trutnov (Czech Republic)
Prague (Czech Republic)
Vienna (Austria)
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Lily B. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-2140). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.