Samuel B. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Samuel B., who was born in Vilna, Poland in 1933. Mr. B. recounts his childhood perspective on the Russian occupation of Vilna; the arrival of the German army; and German anti-Jewish activities. He recalls arrival at Vilna's "old ghetto" with his parents; hiding outside of the ghetto in a monastery, through the arrangement of a baptized aunt; and being forced by circumstances to smuggle themselves back into the ghetto. He describes conditions within the ghetto; the ghetto's school; his own private education; his artistic activities within the ghetto; and his family's transfer to a nearby H.K.P. labor camp. He recounts his mother's escape to his aunt's home in Vilna; her successful arrangement to smuggle him out; and his later discovery of his father's wartime death. He relates life in Vilna under Russian occupation; their postwar escape to American-occupied Berlin via ?o?dz?; their two-year stay in Palestine during the height of the war; hearing many survivor stories in Israel; his travels as an artist in Europe; and the influence of his wartime experiences on his painting. Mr. B. also discusses his relationship with his children and his thoughts about Christianity and Judaism.
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
People
- B., Samuel, -- 1933-
Corporate Bodies
- H.K.P. (Concentration camp : Vilnius, Lithuania)
- Landsberg am Lech (Displaced persons camp)
Subjects
- Escapes.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), in art.
- Monasteries.
- Refugees, Jewish.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Religious aspects.
- Jews -- Lithuania -- Vilnius.
- Child survivors.
- Soviet occupation.
- Hiding.
- Survivor-child relations.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Men.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- Holocaust survivors.
- Video tapes.
- Mothers and sons.
- Jewish ghettos.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Children.
Places
- Poland.
- Vilna (Poland)
- Vilnius (Lithuania)
- Berlin (Germany)
- Łódź (Poland)
- Landsberg am Lech (Germany)
- Vilna ghetto.
Genre
- Oral histories. -- ftamc