Irene S. Holocaust testimony (HVT-98) interviewed by Laurel Vlock

Videotape testimony of Irene S., who was born in 1925 in the Galician town of Vizezhany and grew up in Grudziadz, Poland. She describes her life as the daughter of a prominent local musician; her family's move to Białystok in 1938; and their life there under Russian and German occupation. She speaks of the ghettoization of Białystok; ghetto life; her underground activities there; and her capture and transport to Majdanek by way of Treblinka. She tells of her experiences in Majdanek; in a small nearby labor camp; in Auschwitz; and as a slave laborer in Germany where she was liberated by the Americans in Kaunitz. Mrs. S. notes the fates of family members; postwar experiences working as a translator; and her emigration to the United States. She also makes reference to Jewish self-deception during the Holocaust; sings songs sung by Jews during the war, including some of her own composition; and asserts her belief in the possibility of a more humane world.