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Chaim F. Holocaust testimony (HVT-2368) interviewed by David Herman and Elliot Perry,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-2368

Videotape testimony of Chaim F., who was born in Tuszyn, Poland in 1930. He recalls his family living there for ten generations; their orthodoxy; antisemitism; a large extended family; German invasion; forced relocation to Piotrków three months later; ghettoization; his bar mitzvah; slave labor in a glass factory; separation from his mother and sister (he never saw them again); remaining with his father and brother; their transfer to Piotrków, Buchenwald, then Dora in early 1944; a privileged position distributing food; sharing extra food with his father and brother; transfer to Nordhausen, then Herzog; obtaining extra food from a friend; his father's death in 1945; an SS man letting him go when he was caught smuggling food; he and a friend helping each other; train transport and a death march to Theresienstadt; he and a friend helping his brother; separation from his brother; liberation by Soviet troops; throwing a German into the river for revenge (he did not drown); reunion with his brother; transfer to Windermere, England via Prague in August; and living in a hostel. Mr. F. discusses his close relationship with his brother; the importance of luck to his survival; the effects of starvation; pervasive painful memories of his losses; and becoming hardened by his experiences.

Author/Creator
F., Chaim, 1930-
Published
London, England : British Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, 1990
Interview Date
December 14, 1990.
Locale
Poland
Piotrków Trybunalski
Piotrków Trybunalski (Poland)
Tuszyn (Łódź, Poland)
Prague (Czech Republic)
Windermere (England)
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Chaim F. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-2368). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.