Andrew S. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Andrew S., who was born in Potrete, Hungary, in 1929. Mr. S. describes prewar life in the small town where his family, the only Jews, lived for generations; friendly relations with non-Jews; the difficulty of believing stories of atrocities coming from Poland; moving to Nagykanizsa; Jewish holiday observances; imposition of anti-Jewish laws, which reached their peak after German occupation in 1944; work in a labor camp; deportation to Birkenau; and separation from his family upon arrival. He details life in Birkenau; physical and psychological aspects of hunger and deprivation; transfer to Mauthausen; nine months of slave labor in a tunnel in Melk; transport to Ebensee as the Soviet troops advanced; daily executions and starvation; liberation by United States troops; returning to Nagykanizsa and Potrete; becoming a plumber; and emigration to the United States in 1956. Mr. S. describes trips to Hungary and Germany, and discusses the historical impact and ethical lessons of the Holocaust.

3 videocassettes