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Sam F. Holocaust testimony (HVT-4274) interviewed by Yannis Thanassekos and Michel Rosenfeldt,

Oral History | Digitized | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-4274

Overview

Summary: Videotape testimony of Sam F., a Protestant, who was born in Piétrebais, Belgium in 1918. He recounts that his parents were very religious; working in their market; military draft in 1939; German invasion; demobilization; continuing to work for his father; moving to Brussels to avoid forced labor; sending packages to Belgian POWs in Germany; arrest in June 1944; incarceration in Charleroi prison; deportation to Buchenwald in August; transfer several weeks later to Blankenburg; slave labor in construction; frequent deaths and starvation; a death march to Magdeburg; a mass killing of prisoners; liberation; transfer by the Red Cross to Lübeck, then to a hospital in Trelleborg, Sweden, and then to Ulricehamn; surgery; repatriation to his parents' home; marriage in 1946; and the births of two children. Mr. F. discusses developing faith in God while in camp; nightmares resulting from his experiences; and receiving reparations for permanent injuries.
Author/Creator: F., Sam, 1918-
Published: Brussels, Belgium : Fondation Auschwitz, 2000
Interview Date: December 18, 2000.
Locale: Belgium
Piétrebais (Belgium)
Brussels (Belgium)
Magdeburg (Germany)
Lübeck (Germany)
Trelleborg (Sweden)
Ulricehamn (Sweden)
Cite As: Sam F. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-4274). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
Other Authors/Editors: Thanassekos, Yannis, interviewer.
Rosenfeldt, Michel, interviewer.
Notes: This testimony is in French.

Physical Details

Language: French
Copies: 2 copies: Betacam SP master; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Physical Description: 1 videorecording (2 hr., 54 min.) : col

Keywords & Subjects

Subjects (Local Yale): Mutual aid.
Mass killings.
Postwar effects.
Postwar experiences.
Subjects: Video tapes. Men. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Belgian. World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Belgian. World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, German. Concentration camp inmates. Forced labor. World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities. Death marches. Faith. Nightmares. Belgium. Piétrebais (Belgium) Brussels (Belgium) Magdeburg (Germany) Lübeck (Germany) Trelleborg (Sweden) Ulricehamn (Sweden) Oral histories (document genres) F., Sam,--1918- Buchenwald (Concentration camp) Blankenburg am Harz (Concentration camp) International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Administrative Notes

Holder of Originals: Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
Special Collection: Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies

Link to Yale University Library Catalog:: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/6572397
Record last modified:: 2018-05-30 11:40:00
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt6572397

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