Boder travels overseas on USS Brazil; French village; displaced persons camp
Creator(s)
- David P. Boder (Camera Operator)
- The University of Akron
Biographical History
David Pablo Boder was a professor of psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology who traveled in 1946 to Europe to record interviews with displaced persons. Arriving in Paris in late July, Boder would spend the next two months interviewing 130 displaced persons in nine languages and recording them on a state-of-the-art wire recorder. The interviews were among the earliest (if not the earliest) audio recordings of Holocaust survivors. They are valuable not only for the testimonies of survivors and other DPs, but also for the song sessions and religious services that Boder recorded at various points during the expedition. Boder's itinerary included four countries—France, Switzerland, Italy, and German—and sixteen different interview sites. On most days he conducted between two and five interviews, with each interview lasting anywhere from 20 minutes to several hours. As the weeks went by and Boder sensed his time drawing short, he stepped up the pace. Toward the end, he completed as many as nine in a single day (on September 21 in Munich). Most days total half that number; some days are unaccounted for. Boder left Europe in early October, having recorded over ninety hours of material and completely used up the two hundred spools of wire that he had brought with him. A very detailed biography is published at http://voices.iit.edu/david_boder and in Alan Rosen's The Wonder of Their Voices: The 1946 Holocaust Interviews of David Boder, New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Scope and Content
MS, group of four at railroad station, including David Boder. “United States Lines Car M.” 01:00:51 VAR views of the deck of a large ship, probably the USS Brazil which Boder sailed to Europe on in late July 1946. Boder with the recorder on his shoulder, walks down the stairs on the ship. A man writes in a journal. A man wearing a yarmulke takes off his glasses. Boder with two men. Woman with her young son. More shots of the ship, American flag. 01:03:07. CU, alternating shots of Boder and a man with still camera. Other ships in the water as they approach a harbor. People on deck. 01:05:20 Rural town. Woman follows two dairy cows. Sign with arrows, “Amblainville Meru D 121.” (a town in France). Man walks with a cane, kettle and scythe down the street. People gathered around on a cobblestone street look at the camera and smile. Men on horseback lead them down the street. Donkey pulls a woman in a wagon. CUs, women with baby in a stroller. Man and young child. 01:07:13 Building in a displaced persons camp, unknown location. VAR shots of DPs, men and children. LS of the camp. Children, one with a bandage, and other DPs. Man with the cane and scythe on the sidewalk. LS, large castle-like estate. People stand in the cemetery for a funeral, wreaths. Men walk through the gardens/cemetery. Funeral procession, men dressed formally with top hats. Group outside of a building, pan up a ruined building, USA automobile in front. Street activity. Crowd. Woman rides her bike with a child in the front basket. Boys. Woman carries boxes.
Subjects
- WOUNDED
- VILLAGES
- COWS
- RAIL SYSTEMS
- DISPLACED PERSONS (DP)
- BICYCLES
- WOMEN
- CHILDREN (JEWISH)
- FUNERALS
- HARBORS
- CEMETERIES
- CROWDS
- DISPLACED PERSONS (DP) CAMPS
- BABIES
- FRENCH
- FRANCE
- AUTOMOBILES
- FAMILIES
- CARTS/WAGONS
- JEWS
- STREETS
- SHIPS
- CAMERAS
- TRAIN STATIONS
Places
- , France
- , Atlantic Ocean
Genre
- Film
- Amateur.