Wolf Z. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 1096
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Wolf Z., who was born in Olkusz, Poland, in 1923 and raised in nearby Sosnowiec. Mr. Z. recalls the town's primitive conditions; Jewish prewar social and cultural life; rapid deterioration following the German invasion; ghettoization; and the suspicions about the deportations and construction of Auschwitz. He tells of hiding; capture in a 1942 round-up; transport to Sakrau, then to Karvina?, Czechoslovakia; work as a carpenter's helper; transfer to Klettendorf in 1943; work as a farm hand; and surviving on vegetables normally fed to pigs. He describes transport to Fu?nfteichen, then to Dyhernfurth in 1944; evacuation on a death march on December 26 to Nordhausen; digging tunnels for underground factories; marching to Bergen-Belsen; conditions there leading to madness and cannibalism; and liberation by British troops. He reflects on his lengthy recuperation; finding a job and marrying in Stockholm; visiting his sole surviving sister in Poland in 1948; emigration to the United States in 1956; the importance to him of his children; and his belief that survival in the camps was based on luck, rather than cleverness.

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

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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.