Josef B. Holocaust testimony (HVT-4215) interviewed by Ingrid Antalová and René Lužica

Videotape testimony of Josef B., a Catholic Romani, who was born in Súlovce, Czechoslovakia (presently Slovakia) in 1928, one of five children. He recalls his father was a musician; moving to Žirany when he was six; attending a Hungarian school; learning to play the violin; caring for his younger siblings when his parents worked; joining a band when he was seventeen; German troops entering the village; being forced to dig trenches; playing for the Germans; observing Jewish women fleeing from Nitra; his mother hiding them briefly in their home; evacuation to Jelenec; assistance from the local population; staying in Skýcov; the Germans burning the village as the Soviets approached; liberation by Soviet troops; playing for their victory celebration; the Soviets accompanying them home; marriage in 1948; military enlistment in 1949; playing in the army band; a variety of jobs; and making violins after his retirement. Mr. B. plays the violin several times during the testimony.