- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Henry O., who was born in Hrubieszów, Poland in 1923. Mr. O. describes leaving imprisonment in Budzyń in January 1944, after falsely registering himself and his three brothers as scientists in order to be placed in a special commando in Flossenbürg; and the detail itself (documentation of this commando exists at YIVO), which Mr. O. speculates was a sham for those Germans in charge to avoid front line duty. He recalls their transfer by cattle car to Płaszów; suffering, beatings, and horrendous conditions there; transfer to Berlin from the Kraków railroad station with his brother Sam in October 1944; transfer to Ravensbrück, Oranienburg, and Sachsenhausen, where they again operated as the scientific commando; a death march from which they were liberated by the English, then Russians; and their return to Hrubieszów. Mr. O. tells of experiencing antisemitic incidents and pogroms; being saved by a Polish woman; his departure from Poland without his brother; reunion with one other surviving brother in Amberg; and verifying the deaths of his third brother and his sister on a death march. Mr. O emphasizes the importance of judging people on individual merit rather than group membership.
- Author/Creator
- O., Henry, 1923-
- Published
- New Haven, Conn. : Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale, 1987
- Interview Date
- November 11, 1987.
- Locale
- Poland
Hrubieszów (Poland)
Berlin (Germany)
Amberg-Sulzbach (Germany)
- Cite As
- Henry O. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-942). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Kline, Dana L., interviewer.
Vlock, Laurel, interviewer.
- Notes
-
Unpublished finding aid available in repository; 1/2 in. VHS is linked to finding aid by time coding.
Related publication: I shall live / Henry Orenstein. -- New York : Beaufort Books, c1987.
Additional written material is available in the repository.
Associated material: Fred O. Holocaust testimony [brother] (HVT-943) and Seymour O. Holocaust testimony [brother] (HVT-944), Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
