Leo G. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Leo G., who was born in Be?dzin, Poland in 1923. He describes his childhood in a poor and very religious household in Be?dzin and in nearby Sosnowiec; prewar antisemitism; and his education and work experiences. He recalls the influx of German Jews into Poland; the German march through Be?dzin in September 1939, and the abuse by Germans of Jewish inhabitants; ghettoization, forced labor, and anti-Jewish regulations; and his transport to Germany in early 1942. He tells of his slave labor near Gleiwitz and in Bunzlau, a sub-camp of Gross Rosen, where he worked in a sawmill for three years alongside Polish and German civilians as well as prisoners of war; the psychological state of workers in the camp; the literally unspeakable dehumanization; and the fortuitous nature of survival. He relates the six-week-long death march in winter 1945 to Dora/Nordhausen, which was a frequent target of Allied bombing; the horrible circumstances of the week-long transport from there to Bergen-Belsen; and the liberation of that camp. Mr. G. also reflects on the psychological effects of his experiences, including the loss of his family.
Extent and Medium
4 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
People
- G., Leo, -- 1923-
Corporate Bodies
- Bergen-Belsen (Concentration camp)
- Gross Rosen (Concentration camp)
- Nordhausen (Concentration camp)
Subjects
- Forced labor.
- Concentration camps -- Psychological aspects.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Jews -- Poland -- Będzin.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Forced repatriation.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Psychological aspects.
- Jewish ghettos.
- Death marches.
- Antisemitism -- Prewar.
- Holocaust survivors.
- Men.
- Video tapes.
Places
- Będzin ghetto.
- Bunzlau (Poland : Concentration camp)
- Poland.
- Dora (Germany : Concentration camp)
- Gleiwitz (Poland : Concentration camp)
- Będzin (Poland)
- Sosnowiec (Województwo Śląskie, Poland)
Genre
- Oral histories. -- aat