Overview
- Description
- Consists of a handwritten memoir in Hungarian authored by Herman Wolf (later Herman Woolf), originally of Buštino, Czechoslovakia (Bushtyno, Ukraine). The memoir discusses the occupation of Hungary, Herman’s experiences in Auschwitz-Birkenau and Oranienburg with his son John, their separation, and his liberation from Sachsenhausen. The memoir was written around late 1945 or early 1946 while Herman was recovering in a sanatorium in Liberec, Czechoslovakia (Liberec, Czech Republic). Also included is a typed, English language translation prepared by Herman’s son John Woolf in 2013.
- Date
-
inclusive:
circa 1945-2013
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of John Woolf
- Collection Creator
- Herman Wolf
- Biography
-
Herman Woolf (1896-1969) was born Herman Wolf on 28 February 1896 in Buštino, Czechoslovakia (Bushtyno, Ukraine) to Julius Wolf and Susanna Brandstein. He married Catharina Roth (Kato, 1907-) and they had one son, John (1928-). The family lived in Buštino prior to the war.
After the German occupation of Hungary, the family was interned in the Mateszalka ghetto. They were deported to Auschwitz and survived the initial selection, though Herman and John were separated from Kato. Herman and John were sent to forced labor working in the camp laundry. At one point, Herman was sent to the infirmary with typhus and skin boils. In January 1945, Herman and John were sent on a forced march to Oranienburg, where Herman was again sent to the camp hospital with typhus and an injured hand. Herman and John were separated, and Herman was marched to Sachsenhausen. After being marched out of Sachsenhausen, he was liberated by the Red Army.
After a month, he learned that Kato and John had both survived and were in Bucharest. The family reunited, but Herman was still ill and was hospitalized in a sanatorium in Liberec, Czechoslovakia (Liberec, Czech Republic). After he recovered, the family immigrated to the United States with the assistance of Kato's brother, Ernest Rockey, who lived in America. The family later changed their last name to Woolf.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Personal Narratives.
- Extent
-
2 folders
- System of Arrangement
- The Herman Wolf memoir is arranged in a single series.
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).
- Copyright Holder
- Mr. John Woolf
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Czechoslovakia--Personal narratives, Jewish. Holocaust survivors--Czechoslovakia--Biography.
- Geographic Name
- Bushtyna (Ukraine) Ukraine.
- Personal Name
- Woolf, Hermann. Woolf, John.
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- John Woolf donated the Herman Wolf memoir to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-01-25 11:43:06
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn605149
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- In Copyright
- Terms of Use
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