Ludwig F. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 0155
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Ludwig F., who was born in Poland in 1908. Mr. F. speaks of his education; his successful business in Cze?stochowa; his marriage in 1933; and the birth of his daughter in 1937. He describes the German occupation and the anti-Jewish measures which followed; the ghettoization of Cze?stochowa; and conditions and slave labor in the ghetto. He relates the liquidation of the ghetto, during which he smuggled himself out on a cart of corpses, then joined the group of laborers charged with burying the bodies; his work as a clerk for a German captain; and how, with the assistance of this German, he was able to smuggle his wife and three-year-old daughter out of the ghetto. Stressing the precocity and instinct for survival of small children, Mr. F. vividly and empathically tells the story of his daughter, who was eventually taken to a convent as a Polish orphan. He recounts working in various labor camps; atrocities against Jewish prisoners and prisoners of war; his mistreatment by a German, against whom he later testified at the Frankfurt war crimes trials; and liberation by the Russians. He describes the reunion with his daughter; sending her to London with a rabbi; and living in Munich with his wife and new son until 1949, when they and his daughter emigrated to the United States. Mr. F. also discusses the differences between his daughter and his son due to her wartime experiences.

Extent and Medium

3 videocassettes (3/4" u-matic)

Conditions Governing Access

This testimony is open with permission.

Conditions Governing Reproduction

Copyright has been transferred to the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies. Use of this testimony requires permission of the Fortunoff Video Archive.

Rules and Conventions

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Process Info

  • compiled by Staff of the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies

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This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.