- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Zahava S., who was born in Abaújszántó, Hungary in 1929. She relates her family's strong Hungarian identity; friendly relations with non-Jews; the impact of anti-Jewish laws; her father's draft into a Hungarian labor battalion; and the difficulty of believing stories of atrocities coming from Poland. Mrs. S. recalls deportation to the Košice ghetto; childish concern for her cat; deportation to Auschwitz; separation with her sister from the rest of their family; incarceration in Block 26 of Birkenau which had housed typhus victims and was used to see how many would contract typhus; her decision to commit suicide with her sister; changing their minds when someone threw them bread; and their transfer to Bergen-Belsen. She describes transfer to Markkleeberg near Leipzig; the death march to Terezín; awaking en route alone in the woods with two other prisoners; hiding; liberation by Russians; returning to Hungary to seek family members; and emigration to Israel with her sister. Mrs. S. discusses her feelings of despair during the Holocaust when she observed normal life outside the camps; the importance of being together with her sister; the perception of Jewish passiveness which impacts not only survivors but also their children; and the need for others to understand that there were no choices.
- Author/Creator
- S., Zahava, 1929-
- Published
- New York, N.Y. : Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale, 1984
- Interview Date
- November 11, 1984.
- Locale
- Slovakia
Košice
Abaújszántó (Hungary)
Košice (Slovakia)
Hungary
Dresden (Germany)
Sered̕ (Slovakia)
Budapest (Hungary)
Israel
- Cite As
- Zahava S. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-301). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Neuman, Susanna, interviewer.
Prince, Robert, interviewer.
