- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Georges D., a non-Jew, who was born in Ixelles, Belgium in 1911. He recounts his mother's death in 1918; his family's move to Brussels; training as a mechanic in a technical school; military service beginning in 1931; working as a policeman; marriage in 1936; the births of two daughters; German invasion on May 10, 1940; military draft; fleeing to France on May 16; encountering Germans; returning home the day after Belgian capitulation; joining the Resistance; delivering underground journals; hiding individuals sought by the Gestapo; obtaining false papers for Jews; arrest in September 1942; incarceration and interrogations at St. Gilles; transfer to Breendonk ten days later, then transfer back to St. Gilles eight days later; deportation to Natzweiler-Struthof in early 1943; slave labor repairing clothing; public hanging of an escapee; transfer to Buchenwald a month later; slave labor constructing a factory; hospitalization in winter 1943-1944; slave labor building roads, then a privileged assignment in an engine factory; receiving Red Cross packages; the horrendous conditions of Jews arriving from other camps; Allied bombings; liberation by United States troops in April 1945; living with a German family in Weimar; repatriation in May; and reunion with his family. Mr. D. discusses relations between national groups, camp hierarchies, and efforts to boost morale; corresponding with his wife from the camps; accusations of exaggerating when sharing his experiences; testifying at a war crimes trial; attending meetings of survivor groups; accompanying student groups to Breendonk and other camps; difficulty sharing his experiences with his children; and nightmares resulting from his experiences. He shows photographs, documents, and ephemera.
- Author/Creator
- D., Georges, 1911-
- Published
- Brussels, Belgium : Fondation Auschwitz, 1998
- Interview Date
- March 23, September 10 and 11, 1998.
- Locale
- Belgium
Ixelles (Belgium)
Brussels (Belgium)
Weimar (Thuringia, Germany)
- Cite As
- Georges D. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-4190). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Toussaint, Nina, interviewer.
Rosenfeldt, Michel, interviewer.
- Notes
-
Photocopies of documents and related materials are available in the repository.
This testimony is in French.
