Rosalie W. and Jolly Z. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Rosalie W. and her daughter Jolly Z., who was born in Uz?h?horod, Czechoslovakia (presently Ukraine) in 1926. They describe their happy, privileged prewar life; the emigration of Mrs. W.'s son to Palestine; the Hungarian occupation; the deterioration of conditions following the German occupation; their transfer to a brick factory in the ghetto (Mrs. Z. came out of hiding to join her parents there); and their evacuation and journey by cattle car to Auschwitz. They speak of their separation from Mrs. W.'s husband, whom they later realized was gassed upon arrival; their ignorance and dawning awareness of the gassing, live burnings and cremation; their ability to remain together throughout the war; and their sustaining relationship with each other. They relate their transfer to Hamburg as slave laborers; conditions there, where they witnessed and experienced both kindness and cruelty; and their transport to Bergen-Belsen, where they were liberated. Mrs. W. explains that she remained hopeful throughout her wartime experience, while Mrs. Z. stresses and provides vivid examples of passive resistance, including music, poetry, and religious festivities; her belief in the possibility for choice and the potential for both good and evil which reside in each individual; and the hope engendered by this belief.

2 videocassettes (3/4" u-matic)