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Oral history interview with Fred Knoller

Oral History | Digitized | Accession Number: 1995.A.1285.42 | RG Number: RG-50.149.0042

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    Oral history interview with Fred Knoller

    Overview

    Interview Summary
    Freddie Knoller, born in April 17, 1921, describes his early life in Vienna, Austria; his family; education; experiencing antisemitism; the rise of right wing political parties in Austria; being in the Socialist Highschool Boys' movement; the German take over and the treatment of Jews; being forced to clean streets; Kristallnacht; growing restrictions of Jewish civilians; deciding to leave Austria; attending a tailoring college in 1938; entering Belgium illegally in December 1938; living in a hostel in Antwerp, Belgium; moving to a children’s camp in Brussels, Belgium; playing cello in adult camp orchestra; leaving the camp in May 1940 in anticipation of the German invasion of Belgium; going to France; being arrested by French police and imprisoned in an Orleans jail; his internment as an enemy alien in camp near Spanish border; the cholera outbreak and escaping; living with relatives in Limoges, France; moving to Paris, France in late 1940; acting as a guide to German soldiers in Paris; his accommodations in a hotel frequented by prostitutes; acquiring false papers; his arrest, interrogation, and release by Gestapo in late 1941; German round ups of Jewish civilians; joining the resistance; interviewing with resistance leaders; his liaison role between different resistance groups; the plans to attack SS barracks; the level of support from civilians for the resistance; the German treatment of captured resistance members; courier work; air drops; his arrest and interrogation by Gestapo in October 1942; being sent to a jail in Paris and confessing his Jewish identity; being sent to Drancy; conditions in the camp; the lack of a work regime; attempts to construct an escape tunnel; rations; the attitude towards the Jewish administration; being transported to Auschwitz in November 1943; the conditions during the transport in wagons and being with Dr. Weiss; arriving in the camp; undressing, experiencing selections, shaving, receiving clothing, and tattooing; inmates’ triangles; being sent to Buna Monowitz; a speech by an SS officer regarding inmates' status; Dr. Weiss being sent to the hospital and the rations he gave Knoller; the importance of maintaining personal morale; the organization of the barracks; monthly selection procedures; the daily routine; working with the cement Kommando; attempting to get into the camp orchestra; the relationship between the SS and German civilian workers; inmate boxing matches and other entertainments; witnessing execution of escapees; inmate suicides on electrified fence; the effects of the Allied bombing on the factory; being marched to Dora in November 1944; the change in Kapos’ attitudes during the march; arriving at Katowice railhead; traveling by train the disposal of dead bodies; doing construction work in Dora; hearing of sabotage activities; witnessing execution of saboteurs; being sent to Bergen-Belsen in January 1945; their accommodations in SS barracks; the treatment by Hungarian guards; the lack of food and searching for food; seeing the starving inmates; the disappearance of SS guards and attitude of Hungarian guards; breakdown of discipline in camp; being liberated by British troops; the reaction of British troops to the sight of inmates; advice from Red Cross not to overeat; acquiring food from German farmhouses; the attitude of British troops to German civilians; revenge taken by inmates on Kapos; a talk given by a British Army Rabbi; the medical aid given by the Red Cross; his desire to return to France; recuperating in France; going to Belgium and being interrogated by the French Resistance and the police; VE Day celebrations; meeting with his brother who was serving with the US Army; and the effects of his experience.
    Interviewee
    Freddie Knoller
    Date
    interview:  1985 December

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Extent
    7 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
    Cellists. Cholera. Concentration camp escapes. Concentration camp guards. Concentration camp inmates--Selection process. Concentration camp inmates--Suicidal behavior. Concentration camp tattoos. Death march survivors. Death marches. Escapes. Guerrilla couriers. Holocaust survivors. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. Identification cards--Forgeries--France. Illegal aliens--France. Jewish refugees--Belgium. Jewish refugees--France. Jews--Austria--Vienna. Jews, Austrian--Belgium. Jews, Austrian--France. Kapos. Prisons--France--Orléans. Prostitution--France--Paris. Refugee camps--Belgium. Revenge. Roll calls. Starvation. Tailors. World War, 1939-1945--Deportations from France. World War, 1939-1945--Jewish resistance--France. World War, 1939-1945--Medical care. World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Jewish. World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, French. World War, 1939-1945--Underground movements--France. Men--Personal narratives.
    Personal Name
    Knoller, Freddie, 1921-

    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 Fred Knoller from the Imperial War Museum in February 1995.
    Record last modified:
    2023-11-16 08:17:30
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn510850

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