Maximilian L. Holocaust testimony (HVT-956) interviewed by Pam Goodman and Bonnie Dwork

Videotape testimony of Maximilian L., who was born in 1924 in Vienna, Austria. He tells of his father's service for Austria in World War I; hearing of Jewish persecution in Germany from emigré relatives; his strong Austrian patriotism; harassment of Jews following the Anschluss; being able to leave Austria because his father retained his Czech citizenship; arrival in Paris; satisfaction at fighting back at anti-Semitic incidents in school; family applications for emigration to Australia, Canada, or the United States; and German invasion of Paris. Mr. L. recalls leaving Paris in a massive exodus to Bordeaux; living in Marseille and Nice; his father's success in obtaining documents allowing their emigration; arrival in Madrid; celebrating Passover in Lisbon; arrival in New York on April 25, 1941; assistance received from HIAS; enlisting in the U.S. Army; witnessing the August 1944 liberation of Paris; the Battle of the Bulge; standing on the ruins of Nazi party headquarters in Munich; arrival at Dachau two days after its liberation; disbelief at the horror; serving as head of the criminal police in Wiesbaden; and return to the U.S. in 1946. He discusses his present life and his children.