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Jan C. Holocaust testimony (HVT-4288) interviewed by Rik Hemmerijckx,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-4288

Videotape testimony of Jan C., a non-Jew, who was born in Antwerp, Belgium in 1922. He recalls being raised by his grandparents in Herentals after his father's death; his mother's remarriage; attending school in Turnhout; working in his stepfather's bakery; military conscription in 1940; posting to Gravelines, France; returning to Herentals; involvement with the Resistance; distributing pamphlets, tracking troop movements, and minor sabotage; arrest; imprisonment in Antwerp, then St. Gilles; harsh interrogations; admitting nothing; being condemned to death; deportation to Esterwegen, Börgermoor, Gross Strehlitz, then Laband; slave labor in munitions factories; a death march to Buchenwald; becoming ill; assistance from another prisoner; liberation by United States troops; repatriation to Brussels; returning to Herentals; marriage, and the births of four children. Mr. C. discusses the leadership role of communists in Buchenwald and shows documents.

Author/Creator
C., Jan, 1922-
Published
Herentals, Belgium : Fondation Auschwitz, 2002
Interview Date
February 28, 2002.
Locale
Belgium
Antwerp (Belgium)
Herentals (Belgium)
Turnhout (Belgium)
Gravelines (France)
Language
Dutch
Copies
2 copies: Betacam SP dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Jan C. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-4288). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.