Samuel B. Holocaust testimony (HVT-618) interviewed by Dana L. Kline

Videotape testimony of Samuel B., who was born in Vilna, Poland in 1933. Mr. B. recounts his childhood perspective on the Russian occupation of Vilna; the arrival of the German army; and German anti-Jewish activities. He recalls arrival at Vilna's "old ghetto" with his parents; hiding outside of the ghetto in a monastery, through the arrangement of a baptized aunt; and being forced by circumstances to smuggle themselves back into the ghetto. He describes conditions within the ghetto; the ghetto's school; his own private education; his artistic activities within the ghetto; and his family's transfer to a nearby H.K.P. labor camp. He recounts his mother's escape to his aunt's home in Vilna; her successful arrangement to smuggle him out; and his later discovery of his father's wartime death. He relates life in Vilna under Russian occupation; their postwar escape to American-occupied Berlin via Łódź; their two-year stay in Palestine during the height of the war; hearing many survivor stories in Israel; his travels as an artist in Europe; and the influence of his wartime experiences on his painting. Mr. B. also discusses his relationship with his children and his thoughts about Christianity and Judaism.