Thomas B. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Thomas B., who was born in Izbica, Poland in 1927. He recalls deteriorationg conditions after German invasion; Jewish refugees in 1941 who spoke of gassings at Che?mno and the inability to believe this; Izbica's use as a collection point for Jews starting in 1942; the first round-up and transport, ostensibly to L'vov; learning it had gone to Belzec, where there was a big fire and terrible smell; round-ups thereafter; obtaining Polish papers; and attempting to escape to Hungary in January 1943. Mr. B. relates capture and imprisonment; returning to Izbica; transport to the Sobibo?r extermination camp with his family in April 1943; their selection for gassing; and his assignment as a shoeshine boy. He describes how the October 1943 revolt was organized, executed and his role; escape; hiding in Izbica for five months; betrayal and discovery in April 1944; feigning death to escape; continued pursuit and hiding; his depression upon liberation; and postwar antisemitism. Mr. B. discusses implications of the Sobibo?r revolt, his conviction that remembering is a form of revenge, and his cooperation with Richard Rashke in documenting the revolt.

2 videocassettes