Overview
- Interview Summary
- Simon Carmel, born in Baltimore, MD, discusses how he became involved in research on Deaf Holocaust survivors; locating Deaf survivors in Philadelphia, PA and Washington, DC; how he chose to write the stories down instead of film them; some of his frustrations trying to capture the individuals’ stories; common themes in the experiences of the survivors; the statistics on Deaf people who were killed in Europe during the Holocaust; conferences he has attended, including an international conference at Gallaudet University; preserving other genocide stories; signs that have been used for the Holocaust as well as Holocaust-related terms, such as “Nazi” and “Star of David badges”; and the importance of sharing stories of personal experiences.
- Subtitle
- How I Became Involved in Holocaust Research
- Interviewee
- Dr. Simon Carmel
- Interviewer
- Patricia Durr
- Date
-
interview:
2006
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology
Physical Details
- Language
- International Sign Language
- Extent
-
2 videocassettes (DVCAM) : sound, color ; 1/4 in..
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Restrictions on use. Donor retains copyright. Third party use requests must be submitted to the donor.
- Copyright Holder
- Rochester Institute of Technology - National Technical Institute for the Deaf
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- American Sign Language. Deaf--Europe. Deaf--Nazi persecution. Deaf--United States. Genocide. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. Holocaust survivors--United States--Interviews. Involuntary sterilization--Germany. Star of David badges. World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities. Men--Personal narratives.
- Geographic Name
- Baltimore (Md.) Philadelphia (Pa.) Washington (D.C.)
- Personal Name
- Carmel, Simon.
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
Rochester Institute of Technology - National Technical Institute for the Deaf
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology donated a copy of the interview with Simon Carmel to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in December 2009.
- Special Collection
-
The Jeff and Toby Herr Oral History Archive
- Record last modified:
- 2023-11-16 09:18:00
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn39659
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Also in Signed testimonies of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf collection
Oral history interviews with deaf survivors of the Holocaust.
Date: 1990-2006
Signed testimony of Ingelore Honigstein
Oral History
Ingelore Honigstein, born in 1924 in Rastatt, Germany, discusses her childhood as a Jewish Deaf person in her hometown of Kuppenheim during the 1930s; her recollections of the beginning of Nazi Party activity and subsequent restrictions placed on Jews; learning to speak with a speech therapist and attending the Heidelberg School for the Deaf; her treatment as the only Jewish student and her expulsion from the school; her father’s deportation to Dachau and his miraculous release; being sexual assaulted by members of the Nazi Youth and her ensuing pregnancy; hiding her Deafness in order to obtain a visa to travel to the United States where her great-uncle lived; traveling to Holland from where she sailed with her family to the United States on the Volendam I; finding employment through HIAS; meeting her first husband, Herbert Stiefel, whom she had met before in her hometown in Germany; how her husband fled Germany and encouraged other Deaf people to do the same; how her husband made uniforms for General Eisenhower, General Patton, and Admiral Nimitz; returning to her childhood home in Germany; and telling her story for the first time in 1992 during a Deaf Jewish convention in Washington, DC.
Signed testimony of Lilly Rattner Shirey
Oral History
Lilly Rattner Shirey, born October 27, 1932, discusses her childhood in Nazi occupied Vienna, Austria; her Deaf mother; her family's escape from Austria during the night in April 1940 and taking a train to Italy; sailing to the United states on the Rex; hiding jewelry and gold in their clothing; their detainment on Ellis Island; and their eventual entry into the United States.
Signed testimony of Doris Fedrid
Oral History
Doris Fedrid, a Jewish Polish Deaf survivor who late in life also became blind, discusses her experience under the Nazi occupation of Tarnopol, Poland (Ternopil', Ukraine); daily life for her family in the ghetto; her time in a slave labor camp; the birth of her sister in the camp and how she was taken to a Catholic orphanage by a Nazi; her escape from the camp along with her family; all their hiding places; immigrating to the United States; and marrying a Deaf survivor from Austria. (Recording is captioned.)
Survivor testimonies from the 1990 Deaf Jewish Convention
Oral History
Deaf Holocaust survivors give their testimonies at the 1990 Deaf Jewish Convention in Secaucus, NJ. File 1: Interviews with Laszlo Bardos and Magda Zimmet Bardos, from Hungary; File 2: Interview with Ludwig Wurmfeld, from Czechoslovakia; File 3: An introduction by the moderator Simon Carmel, followed by a panel discussion between Frieda Wurmfeld, from Czechoslovakia; Rose Feld Roseman, from Poland; and Stan Teger, from Poland; followed by testimonies retold by Debbie Fink, a family member of a survivor and Dorothy Pankua and Marge Klugman, friends of survivors. (Uncaptioned) Deaf survivors' testimonies: Introduction (0:39) -- Frieda Wurmfeld (11:40) -- Rose Feld Roseman (14.25) -- Stan Teger (7.23) (Uncaptioned) Deaf survivors' testimonies related by family and friends: Introduction (9:40) -- Debbie Fink (5:12) -- Marge Klugman (3:16) -- Dorothy Pankua (6:20) (Uncaptioned)
