- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Sigi Z., who was born in Kassel, Germany, in 1928. Mr. Z. tells of his Polish family's isolation from German life; resentment of local German Jews toward Poles; expulsion from Germany in 1939; Poland's refusal of entry; his father's departure for London (they could not obtain visas for the family); and transport with his mother, brother and 1,000 others to Rīga in December 1941. He recalls conditions in the Rīga ghetto; massacres of Latvian Jews; forced labor in a fish processing plant; smuggling food; witnessing executions; transfer to Kaiserwald in April 1942; rejoining his mother and brother at an army camp at Kaiserwald; transfer in September 1944 to another army camp at Libau; and transfer to Hamburg city prison. He recounts transfer to Kiel-Hasse; execution of about fifty Polish officers; inclusion in an exchange organized by Himmler and Folke Bernadotte; recuperation with his mother and brother in Sweden; reunion with his father; and emigration to America in 1949. Mr. Z. reflects on his postwar career; adjustment difficulties; relations with his children; and the place of the Holocaust in contemporary society.
- Author/Creator
- Z., Sigi, 1928-2000.
- Published
- New Haven, Conn. : Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, 1990
- Interview Date
- April 5, 1990.
- Locale
- Latvia
Rīga
Germany
Kassel (Germany)
Rīga (Latvia)
Hamburg (Germany)
- Cite As
- Sigi Z. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1317). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Hartman, Geoffrey H., interviewer.
Herz, Sara Moss, interviewer.