Harry W. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 0509
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Harry W., who was born in Bez?ovce, Czechoslovakia in 1916. He tells of moving to Uz?h?horod in 1920; attending public and Hebrew school; the beauty and peace of their Shabbat observance; being stabbed by another boy in an anti-Semitic incident; studying at the Yeshivas in Mukachevo and Bratislava; and leaving in 1938 because of the Hungarian occupation of his hometown. He describes being drafted into a Hungarian labor battalion; working in many places in Hungary, Yugoslavia and the Ukraine; harsh conditions and lack of food; working in Budapest where he could leave the camp; being offered shelter in one of Raoul Wallenberg's Swedish safe houses and refusing to leave his fellow workers; transfer to Austria; the death march to Mauthausen; transfer to Gunskirchen; liberation by Americans in May 1945; and his recovery from typhus. Mr. W. relates his return to Uz?h?horod; various business ventures in Hungary and Czechoslovakia; the reunion with his three younger sisters (six others had perished); difficulties living under the Soviets; emigration to Israel, to Canada, then to the United States. He recalls his mother's charitable personality and an encounter with a boyhood friend who lost his faith in Judaism because of Holocaust experiences. Mr. W. concludes that such evil had nothing to do with God but was due to humans.

Extent and Medium

3 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.

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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Genre

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.