Henry K. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Henry K., who was born in Vienna, Austria in 1934. He recalls his family's unsuccessful escape to France; staying in Antwerp; his father's arrest; going to Paris, then Marseille, with his mother and two sisters; their arrest and detention in Rivesaltes in 1942 where his father rejoined them; being loaded on a freight car for deportation and being taken off with his younger sister at the last moment; separation from his sister; and being placed with a family near Limoges where he lived until the end of the war. He describes posing as a Catholic; his foster family's concern that he retain his Jewish identity and remember his parents; help given to him by the village priest who organized the rescue of many Jewish children; his complete integration into the village; reunion with his sister after the war; and their emigration with an uncle to the United States. Mr. K. discusses learning that his parents and another sister perished in Auschwitz; nominating his rescuers to receive a medal from Yad Vashem; his foster family's devout Catholicism; their sense they had not done anything special, simply cared for a child in need; and their continuing close relationship. He expresses his concern that people will allow great crimes to occur, and relates this to his rescuers (who risked their own lives and set an example for others to follow) and the importance of honoring these individuals.

1 videocassette (3/4" u-matic)