Oral history interview with Daniel Geslewitz

Oral History | Not Digitized | Accession Number: 1989.228.16 | RG Number: RG-50.060.0016

Overview

Interview Summary: Daniel Geslewitz (né Gedoliah Geslewitz), born on August 14, 1924, in Lódz, Poland, discusses his siblings and parents; his childhood; the beginning of the war when he was 15 years old; the restrictions placed on Jews; life in the Lódz ghetto; starvation in the ghetto; his father’s death from starvation; the deportations; being deported with his family to Auschwitz in August 1944; the murder of his family except for himself and his three brothers because they were chosen for work; conditions in the camp, including the meager food and beatings; being sent after a week to Germany to do forced labor as a metalworker in camp Braunschweig; working in a village in a small factory that was making parts for trucks; being marched to the main camp; his brother Myer’s death from being forced to drink overly salted soup; being transported to Ravensbrück concentration camp; being sent to camp Wöbbelin, where they were liberated by American troops; recuperating in a German house with his brothers for many weeks; staying in a German town in the British zone for five years; immigrating to the United States in 1950; his life in the US; living in New York, NY and Phoenix, AZ; and his thoughts on Germans and Poles.
Interviewee: Daniel Geslewitz
Date: interview: 1988 May 10

Physical Details

Language: English
Extent: 1 videocassette (VHS) : sound, color ; 1/2 in..

Rights & Restrictions

Conditions on Access: No restrictions on access
Conditions on Use: No restrictions on use

Keywords & Subjects

Topical Term: Antisemitism. Brothers. Concentration camp inmates. Forced labor. Hiding places. Holocaust survivors--Marriage. Holocaust survivors--United States. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. Jewish ghettos--Poland--Lódz. Jews--Persecutions--Poland. Jews--Poland--Lódz. Men--Personal narratives. Metal-workers. Prisoners--Abuse of. Star of David badges. Starvation. World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps. World War, 1939-1945--Deportations from Poland. World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Poland.
Geographic Name: Braunschweig (Germany) Fürstenberg (Germany) Germany. Lódz (Poland) Ludwigslust (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany) Lüneburg (Germany) New York (N.Y.) Phoenix (Ariz.) Poland--History--Occupation, 1939-1945. United States--Emigration and immigration. Germany (Territory under Allied occupation, 1945-1955 : British Zone)
Personal Name: Geslewitz, Daniel.
Corporate Name: Auschwitz (Concentration camp) Braunschweig (Concentration camp) Ravensbrück (Concentration camp) Wöbbelin (Concentration camp)

Administrative Notes

Holder of Originals: Phoenix Holocaust Survivors Association
Legal Status: Permanent Collection
Provenance: The interview with Daniel Geslewitz was conducted on May 10, 1988 by the Phoenix Holocaust Survivors' Association in affiliation with the Cline Library of Northern Arizona University as part of a project to document the testimonies of Holocaust survivors in the Phoenix, AZ area. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum received a copy of the interview in 1989.
Special Collection: The Jeff and Toby Herr Oral History Archive

Record last modified:: 2022-07-28 18:28:25
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn512500

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