Advanced Search

Learn About The Holocaust

Special Collections

My Saved Research

Login

Register

Help

Skip to main content

Oral history interview with Mayer Hersh

Oral History | Digitized | Accession Number: 1995.A.1285.17 | RG Number: RG-50.149.0017

Search this record's additional resources, such as finding aids, documents, or transcripts.

No results match this search term.
Check spelling and try again.

results are loading

0 results found for “keyward

    Oral history interview with Mayer Hersh

    Overview

    Interview Summary
    Mayer Hersh, born in Sieradz, Poland, in 1926, describes his family; education; the orthodox beliefs of his family; his family’s lack of political interest; their loyalty towards Poland; antisemitism in Poland; aspects of being a schoolchild in Sieradz from 1939 to 1940; the reaction to the German invasion in September 1939; leaving their home town; the shooting of Polish civilians by the German Army; living conditions during the occupation; the restrictions on Jews; the execution of a friend by Germans in Otoczna concentration camp in 1940; rumors that Jewish civilians would be transferred to a labor camp; being taken from his family home in March 1940; being an inmate of Otoczna concentration camp from 1940 to 1942; the effects of the lack of food; being beaten by a camp guard; the rations they received; their daily routine and work building a railway line; the suicides of inmates; the possibility of escape; the brutality of Hitler Youth towards his brother in another camp; the attitude of the Polish population towards Jews; the character of Kapos; being an inmate in Auschwitz concentration camp from 1942 to 1944; the selection process under the supervision of Dr. Josef Mengele; roll calls; the construction of a camp compound; selection of inmates for gas chambers; the orchestra playing at the camp gates; the uprising by Sonderkommando in the gas chambers in 1944; the presence of gypsies in the camp and their elimination by the Germans in 1944; resistance in the camp; personal morale; a story of support received from an older inmate during a march in 1945; being an inmate in Stutthof concentration camp in 1944; the presence of his sister in the camp; being moved to an airfield near Stuttgart, Germany, in December 1944; his work duties and contact with German civilians; being an inmate in Gotha then Theresienstadt in 1945; the march to the camp; conditions in the camp and the typhoid epidemic; the death of his friend; liberation of the camp in May 1945; contracting typhoid; his immigration to Great Britain in 1945; arriving in Windermere, England; his attitude towards the work of Jewish organizations; the German medical experimentation on twins in Auschwitz; inmate relations; the discomfort of train journeys; the psychological and physical impact of imprisonment; his attitude towards Germans; the punishment work on Sundays in Auschwitz; medical problems in the camps; an inmate with a sense of humor and rumors about the war’s progress; the degree of religious life in the camps; the impact of his experience on his religious beliefs; and his survival.
    Interviewee
    Mayer Hersh
    Date
    interview:  1987 March 24

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Extent
    3 sound cassettes (90 min.).

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
    Conditions on Use
    Restrictions on use. Permission to copy and/or use recordings in any production must be granted by the Imperial War Museums.

    Keywords & Subjects

    Topical Term
    Antisemitism--Poland. Concentration camp guards. Concentration camp inmates--Intellectual life. Concentration camp inmates--Medical care. Concentration camp inmates--Selection process. Concentration camp inmates--Suicidal behavior. Concentration camps--Psychological aspects. Death march survivors. Death marches. Forced labor. Holocaust survivors--Great Britain. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Personal narratives. Jewish children--Poland--Sieradz. Jewish families--Poland--Sieradz. Jews--Legal status, laws, etc.--Poland. Jews--Persecutions--Poland. Jews--Poland--Sieradz. Kapos. Prisoners--Abuse of--Poland. Railroad construction workers. Rationing. Roll calls. Romanies--Crimes against--Poland. Shooting (Execution)--Poland. Soldiers--Germany. Sonderkommandos. Typhoid fever. World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Liberation. World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Poland. World War, 1939-1945--Deportations from Poland. Men--Personal narratives.

    Administrative Notes

    Holder of Originals
    Imperial War Museum
    Provenance
    The interview was conducted by the Imperial War Museum as part of their retrospective oral history interview program. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum acquired a copy of the interview with Mayer Hersh from the Imperial War Museum in February 1995.
    Record last modified:
    2023-11-16 08:17:21
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn510825

    Download & Licensing

    In-Person Research

    Contact Us