Josif P. Holocaust testimony (HVT-3760) interviewed by Jaša Almuli

Videotape testimony of Josif P., who was born in Makarska, Yugoslavia in 1923. He recalls cordial relations with non-Jews (there were four Jewish families whose fate he recounts); attending elementary school; attending high school in Sarajevo; expulsion of Jews in 1941; finishing school in Split under the benign Italian occupation; joining the communist youth group (SKOJ); his family moving to Split; their return to Makarska in summer 1942; orders for deportation in December; transport to Brač; organizing themselves with assistance from the local Jews and those in Split; organizing a SKOJ group; transfer to Rab Island in May 1943; surprise at their camp incarceration; organizing food distribution and cultural activities; traveling to Otočac after Italian capitulation; hospitalization; the German/Ustaša (Croation fascists) offensive; retreating through many towns; warning Jews of the imminent danger (many did not listen and were killed); remaining in Zagreb after liberation; attending school; and living in Belgrade. Mr. P. notes his parents returned to Makarska (their non-Jewish friends returned all their possessions); many relatives who were killed in camps; and the importance of Serb help to the Jews.