Simon H. Holocaust testimony (HVT-218) interviewed by Dana L. Kline

Videotape testimony of Simon H., who was born in Salonika, Greece in 1910. He describes the prewar Jewish community; his widowed mother's efforts to support five children; his Jewish and secular education; leaving school in 1920 to support himself as a barber's assistant, then a barber; being drafted and discharged; his marriage; and the birth of his two daughters. Mr. H. relates the historical background of the German invasion of Greece; anti-Jewish measures; ghettoization and deportation; "volunteering" in Lancut in order to save his family (they perished); working as a barber; his relationship with his younger brother with whom he survived; deportation to Auschwitz; transfer to Warsaw to clear the wasteland of the former Warsaw ghetto; the horrendous march from Warsaw to Łódź; train transport to Dachau; and liberation by the Americans. Mr. S. recalls his stay in the Feldafing displaced persons camp; marriage there to another survivor; and emigration to the United States with their infant son. He also discusses his life in Boston where he worked as a barber; poor health which caused him to retire; his son and daughter; and the miracle that enabled him to survive.