Bernard E. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 0289
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Bernard E., who was born in Berlin, Germany in 1925. He recounts his father's World War I service; his family's prosperous business; attending public school; restrictions in the 1930s which eased in 1936 during the Olympics; his father's deportation to Zba?szyn?; Crystal Night; his bar mitzvah in December 1938 and his father's letter to him then; his father's return in July 1939; and the family's move to Sambor in August. Mr. E. relates the outbreak of war; Russian occupation; German invasion on June 22, 1941; and mass murders of Jews immediately following. He describes being hidden by a Polish woman in her attic from which he and his father witnessed Jews digging their own graves; ghettoization; repairing bicycles for the Germans which supported his family; hiding with others during a round-up; their discovery; separation from his mother, siblings and family whom he never saw again; his father's assignment to another work detail and subsequent death; and transfers to Drohobych, P?aszo?w, Auschwitz, Mauthausen, and Linz, where he was liberated by Americans in May 1945. He recalls transfer to Sweden for recovery; and returning to Germany in 1967 to testify at a war crimes trial. In this unusually detailed testimony Mr. E. reflects upon the brutalities he witnessed and his hopes and doubts that the world might learn something.

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. This testimony cannot be used for publication without the prior consent of the donor.

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.