Josephine B. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Josephine B., who was born in Amsterdam in 1932. She recalls her youth in a prosperous family; German occupation; her father's activities in the resistance; his escape from the Netherlands; attending a Jewish school; transport to Westerbork with her mother, brother and sister in November 1942; and living in the orphanage when their mother feigned illness to delay deportation. Mrs. B. recounts their transfer to Bergen-Belsen fifteen months later; living conditions; transport east as the Allies approached; liberation from the train in April 1945; her mother's, brother's and sister's illnesses; her obsession with food; becoming ill herself; their June return to Amsterdam; learning about Auschwitz; reunion with her aunt and her father; emigration to England; attending boarding school; and returning to Amsterdam in 1948. Mrs. B. reflects upon her regrets at never discussing wartime experiences with her siblings and mother; efforts to shield her children from her experience; her resentment toward her father for deserting the family and not having saved them when he could; and the vividness of her memories and recent efforts to work through these problems.
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
- B., Josephine, -- 1932-
Corporate Bodies
- Westerbork (Concentration camp)
- Bergen-Belsen (Concentration camp)
Subjects
- Survivor-child relations.
- Video tapes.
- Women.
- Holocaust survivors.
- Family.
- Father and child.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- Brothers and sisters.
- Concentration camps -- Psychological aspects.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Children.
- Concentration camps -- Sociological aspects.
- Resistance.
- Concentration camp inmates -- Family relationships.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Psychological aspects.
- Mother and child.
- Postwar effects.
- Postwar experiences.
- Mutual aid.
- Child survivors.
Places
- Netherlands.
- Amsterdam (Netherlands)
- Leipzig (Germany)
- England.
Genre
- Oral histories. -- aat