Eva B. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
A follow-up, directed videotape testimony of Eva B., whose two testimonies were recorded in 1979. Mrs. B. notes she now wants to deal with the emotional aspects of her experience rather than the factual portions, as she did in her other testimonies. She discusses not sharing her story with her children in order to protect them; her sense of aloneness (she is a widow); returning to Prague with her children; her ease at speaking Czech compared to English; feeling she has no home to which she can return or place where she really belongs; vivid images of incidents in Theresienstadt and Auschwitz; feeling outside of herself in the camps and dreaming of food; difficulty establishing relations today due to her experiences; continuing to avoid sharing her most painful memories; being ostracized in camp which pains her even today and contributes to her sense of alienation; guilt that she survived and others "as good" as she did not; abhorring violence due to her unbearable memories; thinking of herself as a collaborator because she worked for the Nazis and offered a bribe to avoid a transport; her memories becoming more painful over time; and thoughts of writing her autobiography.
Extent and Medium
4 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., Eva, -- 1925-2017.
Corporate Bodies
- Auschwitz (Concentration camp)
- Theresienstadt (Concentration camp)
Subjects
- Holocaust survivors.
- Postwar effects.
- Survivor-child relations.
- Video tapes.
- Women.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Mothers and daughters.
- Concentration camps -- Psychological aspects.
- Concentration camps -- Sociological aspects.
- Concentration camp inmates -- Family relationships.
Genre
- Oral histories. -- aat