Janet B. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Janet B., who was born in Berlin in 1935 of a Jewish mother and a non-Jewish father. Mrs. B. details her childhood memories of antisemitism; the divorce of her parents so her father could join the German army; and her friendship with a German boy with whom she went places where Jews were not allowed. She tells of her and her mother's arrest following the death of her father on the Russian front; her brief return home for provisions, enabling her to destroy possessions and leave a bucket of urine and excrement to be tripped over by anyone who entered the apartment to loot it; and her unusual trip to Theresienstadt. She describes life in Theresienstadt; the improvement of conditions during a Red Cross visit; her and her mother's liberation and return to Berlin; and her reunion with her German friend. She relates her unhappy stays in various rest homes; her and her mother's emigration to the United States in 1946; and her adjustment to her new life. Mrs. B. also describes her participation in the Precious Legacy exhibit and the revival of memories, not previously awakened by a visit, when viewing a German propaganda film about Theresienstadt.
Extent and Medium
2 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
- B., Janet, -- 1935-
Corporate Bodies
- Theresienstadt (Concentration camp)
Subjects
- Video tapes.
- Children of interfaith marriage.
- Child survivors.
- Aid by non-Jews.
- Women.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Children.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
Places
- Berlin (Germany)
- Germany.
Genre
- Oral histories. -- ftamc