Lilli K. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Lilli K., who was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia in 1913. She describes growing up in an assimilated family; the outbreak of war in 1939; her denial of its implications; her deportation to Auschwitz in July 1942; and treatment upon arrival, including the selection of inmates for gassing and experimentation. She recalls her work in the marshes; treatment by the SS guards; working in the administrative offices of the Germans; and her transfer to Birkenau in August 1942. She tells of conditions there; her transfer to the staff building where conditions were better; the Sonderkommando revolt in October 1944, for which many prisoners were punished by death; and spiritual and moral resistance within the camp. She relates the establishment of a new women's camp in Auschwitz in September 1944 and the bombing of the barracks by Americans that same month. Mrs. K. also discusses the deaths of both her husbands; the death march from Auschwitz; and her decision to emigrate to Israel.
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.
Rules and Conventions
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Process Info
compiled by Staff of the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
People
- K., Lilli, -- 1913-
Corporate Bodies
- Birkenau (Concentration camp)
- Auschwitz (Concentration camp)
Subjects
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- Women.
- Video tapes.
- Holocaust survivors.
- Death marches.
- Passive resistance.
- Forced labor.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Concentration camps -- Revolts.
- Concentration camps -- Underground movements.
- Politische Abteilung (Auschwitz)
Places
- Brno (Czech Republic)
- Czechoslovakia.
Genre
- Oral histories. -- ftamc