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Eve S. Holocaust testimony (HVT-649) interviewed by Lucille B. Ritvo and Mindy Brownstein,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-649

Videotape testimony of Eve S., who was born in Hannover, Germany, in 1926. She describes her childhood in Berlin in her large, closely-knit family; their emphasis on education; her socially responsible father (with whom she was particularly close) and grandfather; and her parents' anxiety about the rise of Nazism. She recalls her belief at age six that simply inviting Hitler to dinner would convince him that she and her family were "good people." She recounts her first childhood encounter with antisemitism; the family's experience during Kristallnacht in 1938; her parents' search for foster parents in England or the United States; her departure for England at age twelve; life there during the war; and her sense of guilt and loss over the deaths of all of her family members. Mrs. S. mentions working as an interpreter in occupied Munich after the war; her marriage in Switzerland; arrival in the United States in 1952; and a postwar visit to her birthplace. Interspersed throughout are her thoughts as a teacher on challenges of teaching school children about the Holocaust, respect for human rights, and sensitivity toward others.

Author/Creator
S., Eve, 1926-
Published
New Haven, Conn. : Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale, 1986
Interview Date
January 17, 1986.
Locale
Hannover (Germany)
Berlin (Germany)
Switzerland
Germany
Munich (Germany)
England
Language
English
Copies
3 copies: 3/4 in. master;b3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Eve S. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-649). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.