Pola H. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 0654
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Pola H., who was born in Kielce, Poland in 1913 to a family of ten children. She recalls membership in Hashomer Hatzair; German invasion; bombing raids; marriage in 1940; ghettoization in 1942; privileges obtained from working as a seamstress; the humiliation of being naked in front of Nazi men; deportation to Auschwitz in September 1944 (she never saw her husband again); transfer to Ravensbru?ck, then Malchow; slave labor in a munitions factory; transfer to Sweden via Denmark by the Swedish Red Cross with assistance from Folke Bernadotte; recovery and working; clandestine emigration to Palestine; interception by the British in Haifa harbor; transfer to Cyprus; transfer to Haifa; remarriage to a Kielce survivor; and the births of two sons. Mrs. H. discusses her identification as an Israeli; she and her husband sharing their experiences with their children; and frequently recurring memories and nightmares.

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

  • H., Pola, -- 1913-
  • Bernadotte, Folke, -- 1895-1948.

Corporate Bodies

  • Svenska röda korset.
  • World Hashomer Hatzair.
  • Auschwitz (Concentration camp)
  • Ravensbrück (Concentration camp)
  • Malchow (Concentration camp)

Subjects

  • Husband -- Death.
  • Forced labor.
  • Jews -- Poland -- Kielce.
  • Postwar effects.
  • Survivor-child relations.
  • Jewish ghettos.
  • Nightmares.
  • Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
  • World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
  • Video tapes.
  • Women.
  • Holocaust survivors.

Places

  • Haifa (Israel)
  • Cyprus.
  • Kielce ghetto.
  • Denmark.
  • Kielce (Poland)
  • Sweden.
  • Palestine -- Emigration and immigration.
  • Poland.

Genre

  • Oral histories. -- aat
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.