Henia W. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Henia W., who was born in Sambor, Poland to a family of nine children. She recalls brief German occupation in 1939; Soviet occupation; German invasion in 1941; deportation of her brothers and their families; the role of the Judenrat; her sisters' deportation; forced labor with her parents and twin sister on a farm until the end of 1942; escaping deportation with assistance from a girlfriend's family (she never saw her parents again); assistance from a farmer with whom her mother had left family valuables; encountering her twin sister, who had escaped; avoiding arrest at the L'viv train station with help from a non-Jewish man; assistance from a non-Jewish woman in Rivne; returning to Sambor with her sister; escaping into the forest when recognized by a local man; assistance from a priest; hiding with her sister in farmers' stables and the woods during the next two years; encountering their brother, who was later killed; liberation by Soviet troops; living in Krako?w with her sister; and antisemitic incidents. Mrs. W. notes she and her sister are the only survivors of over 165 family members.
Extent and Medium
1 videocassette
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
- W., Henia.
Subjects
- Forests.
- Postwar experiences.
- Hiding.
- Aid by non-Jews.
- Brothers and sisters.
- Sisters.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- Soviet occupation.
- Jewish councils.
- Forced labor.
- Twins.
- Women.
- Video tapes.
- Holocaust survivors.
Places
- Rivne (Rivnensʹka oblastʹ, Ukraine)
- Kraków (Poland)
- Sambor (Poland)
- L'viv (Ukraine)
- Poland.
Genre
- Oral histories. -- aat