Mary E. Holocaust testimony

Video testimony of Mary E., who was born in ?o?dz?, Poland in 1909. Mrs. E. describes her comfortable childhood; observance of the Jewish holidays; a year of university in Brussels; pharmacy school in Warsaw; and her marriage before the war. She recalls the outbreak of war on September 1, 1939; moving to the ghetto; working as a pharmacist; witnessing atrocities, particularly the round-up of children; hunger; the Judenrat; ghetto humor; and the deportations. Mrs. E. recounts being deported with her husband; separation from him on the train; arrival in Ravensbru?ck; forced labor repairing bombed airplanes; and her deteriorating physical condition. She relates being discovered as a pharmacist by a Russian nurse who was a prisoner-of-war; her work assignment as the nurse's assistant; and her belief that this was a miracle which saved her. Mrs. E. recalls the deprivation and suffering; her belief that she would not survive; liberation by Soviet troops; returning to ?o?dz?; encounters with antisemitism in Poland; her reunion with her husband; moving to Germany; life in the Fo?hrenwald displaced persons camp; the birth of her daughter; and emigration to the United States. Mrs. E. eloquently discusses her inability to communicate her experiences because she feels as if she is from a "different planet," the impact on her daughter, and the importance of her grandchildren and what she would like them to learn in the future.

3 videocassettes (3/4" u-matic)