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William F. Holocaust testimony (HVT-2892) interviewed by Louise Goodman,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-2892

Videotape testimony of William F., who was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1915 the only child of a Jewish mother and Catholic father. He recalls attending public school, gymnasium, and university; working as a librarian at Vienna University; the Anschluss in March 1938; his mother's chocolate business being closed due to anti-Jewish restrictions; arrest for not wearing a swastika; incarceration in Dachau; his father's death (he never learned how he died); slave labor digging fortifications; becoming the body carrier for his barrack; keeping some hope despite his belief he would never be released; release due to his mother obtaining a false request from friends in England for him to work as a librarian; traveling to London, then to southern Wales; working as a lumberjack; earning his fare to the United States; military service as an interpreter in Mississippi; marriage; and establishing a successful chocolate business. Mr. F. discusses learning his mother was deported to Poland in May 1942 (she did not survive); wonderful treatment in Wales by non-Jews; and his inability to hate.

Author/Creator
F., William, 1915-
Published
Peabody, Mass. : Holocaust Center of the Jewish Federation of the North Shore, 1995
Interview Date
May 9, 1995.
Locale
Vienna (Austria)
Austria
London (England)
Wales
Language
English
Copies
2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
William F. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-2892). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.