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Rena C. Holocaust testimony (HVT-2293) interviewed by Lawrence L. Langer,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-2293

Videotape testimony of Rena C., who was born in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland in 1933. She recalls her affluent household; a large, extended family; German invasion; ghettoization; children smuggling food; her father's privileged position as a tailor; deportations of almost all the Jews in fall 1942; forced labor sorting the deportees' possessions; deportation with her parents, brother, and other relatives to Bliżyn in May 1943; her parents hiding them when children were taken; transfer to Auschwitz/Birkenau in 1944; separation from the males; finding a cabbage to give to her aunt on her birthday; thinking and speaking about food constantly; hiding with her aunt, cousin, and mother during the evacuation, knowing she could not walk; liberation by Soviet troops; Red Cross assistance; filming by the Soviets; returning home; learning her father and brother had been killed; only one uncle and aunt returning from her large family; antisemitic remarks by Poles; smuggling themselves to Germany; living in a displaced persons camp near Berlin; and emigration to the United States. Mrs. C. discusses her emotional and physical scars; her mother's early death due to her experiences; seldom speaking about the war years except to other survivors; and recently sharing her story with her children.

Author/Creator
C., Rena, 1933-
Published
Brookline, Mass. : Brookline Holocaust Memorial Committee, 1992
Interview Date
March 31, 1992.
Locale
Poland
Tomaszów Mazowiecki
Tomaszów Mazowiecki (Poland)
Berlin (Germany)
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Rena C. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-2293). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.