Bertha W. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 0608
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Bertha W., one of ten children, who grew up in Mukacheve (presently Ukraine). She recalls her family's orthodoxy; attending a Hungarian school; their move to a mixed neighborhood in 1918; cordial relations with non-Jews during the Czech period; Hungarian occupation; the draft of three brothers into Hungarian slave labor battalions (another had emigrated to France); her father's death in 1941, and her mother's in 1943; ghettoization with her sisters in a brick factory for one week; deportation with one sister to Auschwitz in spring 1944; slave labor in a chemical factory; the arrival of another sister; sharing food with her; her selection for death; transfer with her other sister to Lenzing; a kitchen worker sharing extra food; liberation; traveling to Prague; learning one brother was dead; reunion with another brother who had been in the Soviet army; marriage to a survivor; moving to Heidenheim displaced persons camp; the births of two children; emigrating to the United States in 1949; and her sister's emigration to Australia. Ms. W. discusses sharing her experiences with her children; nightmares resulting from her experiences; and the impossibility of portraying the Holocaust in movies.

Extent and Medium

1 videocassette (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.