Oral history interview with Cecelia Perera

Oral History | RG Number: RG-50.243.0025

Cecilia Perera, born in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now in Bosnia and Herzegovina), discusses the relations between Jews and non-Jews in Sarajevo before the war; being one of seven children of a religious family; the Italian occupation; living with her husband and 14-year-old son at the time of the occupation; her husband’s olive oil factory; the fate of her family members during the war; going with her family to Italy (November 1943 until 1947); living in Bari and then Torino; immigrating to the United States after her son received a scholarship to Massachusetts Institute of Technology; working as a seamstress; her sister who survived Bergen-Belsen; and two of her siblings who live in Israel.

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Interviewee: Cecelia Perera
Date: interview: 1985 April 28
Language: English
Extent: 1 videocassette (VHS) : sound, color ; 1/2 in..
Credit Line: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection

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Special Collection: The Jeff and Toby Herr Oral History Archive
Topical Term: Holocaust survivors--United States.
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives.
Jewish families.
Jewish refugees--Italy.
Jewish women in the Holocaust.
Jews--Bosnia and Herzegovina--Sarajevo.
Jews--Italy.
Jews--Persecutions.
Women dressmakers.
World War, 1939-1945--Refugees.
World War, 1939-1945--Women.
Women--Personal narratives.
Geographic Name: Bari (Italy)
Italy--History--German occupation, 1943-1945.
Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Turin (Italy)
United States--Emigration and immigration.
Yugoslavia--History--Axis occupation, 1941-1945.
Personal Name: Perera, Cecelia.
Holder of Originals: One Generation After
Legal Status: Permanent Collection
Provenance: The interview with Cecelia Perera was conducted on April 28, 1985, by One Generation After, a Boston-based group of children of Holocaust survivors, for the One Generation After oral history project. The copy of the interview was received by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on June 13, 1991
Conditions on Access: There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
Conditions on Use: No restrictions on use
: Record last modified: 2023-11-16 08:24:42
This page: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn514138

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