Overview
- Description
- Contains a memoir written by William J. (Bill) Shapiro (donor's husband), who was captured as a POW and taken to Berga with 349 other Americans to perform slave labor. Also includes the text of a speech given by William Shapiro about his experiences during WWII.
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Betty Shapiro
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- Genre/Form
- Personal narratives.
- Extent
-
1 folder
- System of Arrangement
- Bill Shapiro was an American soldier who was captured as a POW and taken to Berga with 349 other Americans to perform slave labor.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- The donor, source institution, or a third party has asserted copyright over some or all of these material(s). The Museum does not own the copyright for the material and does not have authority to authorize use. For permission, please contact the rights holder(s).
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Prisoner of war.
- Corporate Name
- Berga (Concentration camp)
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Created by William J. Shapiro (donor's late husband) and donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2011 by Betty Shapiro.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-07-22 14:23:09
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn42766
Download & Licensing
- In Copyright
- Terms of Use
- This record is not digitized and cannot be downloaded online.
In-Person Research
- Request 7 Days in Advance of Visit
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD
Contact Us
Also in William Shapiro collection
Memoir written by William J. (Bill) Shapiro (donor's husband); Speech given by William Shapiro about his experiences during WWII; VHS tape of presentation given by him at the U.S. State Department; Bill Shapiro was an American soldier who was captured as a POW and taken to Berga with 349 other Americans to perform slave labor.
Oral history interview with Mordecai Hauer, Gabriel Frankel, and William Shapiro
Oral History
Mordecai Hauer, born January 12, 1926 in Hungary, describes being deported to Auschwitz in a cattle car with his mother, father, and younger brother, all of whom were killed immediately; arriving at the camp and having his hair shaved and being tattooed; how food consisted of a 5-inch square of bread and watery soup; working in a coal mine; describes the entire Holocaust experience as consisting of beastly treatment of people where the Nazis were the mad dogs, crazed with killing people, who were the suffering sheep; and vows that it will not be allowed to happen again. Gabriel Frankel, born January 1925 in Romania, describes being deported in a cattle car, describing in detail his arrival at the concentration camp where everyone was selected for either life or death; how every country has its criminal elements; and his request for introspection as to where this is happening in the listener’s own country. William Shapiro, born in the Bronx, New York City, and served as a combat medic; being taken prisoner by SS troops when he was on leave in Luxembourg; being sent to Bergen-Belsen where he worked in tunnels; being sent to the gallows in the prison, where he ran the dispensary and food service; how other prisoners were beaten brutally and were dying every day; having nightmares and suffering PTSS; and how he found in various photo and film archives that his journey was the same as the European Jews.
