Overview
- Interview Summary
- Ted Weisel (Vizel), born January 24, 1918 in Teresva, Czechoslovakia (now Ukraine), describes his family; his mother’s death when he was an infant; his childhood in Czechoslovakia; experiencing antisemitism in his youth and fighting back; attending Yeshiva in Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania; leaving the Yeshiva at the age of 17 and dressing modern; the Zionist groups in his area; the arrival of the Hungarians in 1938; making plans to cross into Romania; going to Solotvyno (Ukraine); being called up for conscript labor and fleeing the country; crossing the river into Romania under gunfire; going to a refugee camp in Romania and Bucharest, Romania while trying to get to Palestine; befriending a Polish soldier and getting Polish documents from him; leaving for Palestine on a boat on February 12, 1940; being in the Atlit camp in Palestine for six months and life there; hearing of Vladimir Jabotinsky’s death and his response; joining the British Royal Air Force because he wanted to avenge his parents; antisemitism within the British Royal Air Force; his squadron’s duty to maintain the aircrafts; being stationed in Greece, North Africa, and Italy; meeting Jews in Athens, Greece; being evacuated to Crete; being sent to Egypt; being involved in the Jewish community in Alexandria, Egypt; being in Egypt until early 1943; going to Tunis, Tunisia and the large and active Jewish community there; being the only Jew in his squadron; meeting his future wife, Eva; being sent to Italy for nearly 10 months; corresponding with Eva; his job flying a transport plane that dropped supplies to partisans in Yugoslavia; transferring back to Tunisia; proposing to Eva; going back to Athens then back to Tunisia; getting married January 27, 1947; working for Shell Oil while he waited for his visa; immigrating to the United States in 1951; and rejoining with surviving members of his family in Los Angeles, CA.
- Interviewee
- Ted Weisel
- Date
-
interview:
2005 April 03
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ted Weisel
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- Extent
-
3 DVD : MPEG-4.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Restrictions on use. Restrictions may exist. Contact the Museum for further information: reference@ushmm.org
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Air pilots, Military. Antisemitism--Czechoslovakia. Antisemitism--Palestine. Identification cards--Forgeries--Romania. Jewish families. Jewish soldiers. Jewish youth--Europe--Societies and clubs. Jews--Czechoslovakia. Jews--Egypt. Jews--Greece. Jews--Persecutions--Czechoslovakia. Jews--Tunisia. Jews--Ukraine--Solotvyno. Jews--Ukraine--Teresva. Refugee camps--Israel--‘Atlit. Refugee camps--Palestine. Refugee camps--Romania. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Africa, North. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Greece. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Italy. World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor. World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Jewish. World War, 1939-1945--Veterans. Zionism and Judaism. Zionists. Men--Personal narratives.
- Geographic Name
- Africa, North. Alexandria (Egypt) Athens (Greece) Bucharest (Romania) Crete (Greece) Czechoslovakia--History--1938-1945. Greece. Italy. Los Angeles (Calif.) Palestine--Emigration and immigration. Sighetu Marmatiei (Romania) Solotvyno (Ukraine) Tel Aviv (Israel) Teresva (Ukraine) Tunisia. Ukraine--History--German occupation, 1941-1944. United States--Emigration and immigration. ‘Atlit (Israel)
- Personal Name
- Weisel, Ted, 1918-2017. Jabotinsky, Vladimir, 1880-1940.
- Corporate Name
- Betar Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Ted Weisel donated his oral history interview to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Oral History branch in April 2014.
- Special Collection
-
The Jeff and Toby Herr Oral History Archive
- Record last modified:
- 2023-11-16 09:32:15
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn84818
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