Ruth J. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Ruth J., who was born in Frankenberg, Germany, in 1932. Ms. J. recalls a family move to Du?sseldorf; Kristallnacht; her parents' decision to flee to Holland; living on the estate of an anti-Nazi baron in Utrecht; being joined by her grandmother; German invasion; imposition of anti-Semitic measures; the disappearances of school classmates; deportation of her grandmother to Terezi?n; and in 1942 being hidden by a non-Jewish friend who told others the family had committed suicide. She describes being helped by the Dutch resistance; separation from her parents; placement with several families (sometimes in the guise of a "long lost cousin"); her "child-like" awareness of the reasons for hiding; reunion with her parents in hiding; Allied liberation in 1944; postwar confusion about her religious identity; her mother's emotional breakdown and suicide; her father's remarriage and suicide; emigration to America in 1953; and becoming the first woman in the film projectionists' union. Ms. J. illustrates her account with collages she created from family photographs and documents.
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
- J., Ruth, -- 1932-
Subjects
- Aid by non-Jews.
- Antisemitism -- Prewar.
- Parent and child.
- Kristallnacht, 1938.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Netherlands.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), in art.
- Refugees, Jewish.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Jews -- Rescue.
- Postwar experiences.
- Hiding.
- Postwar effects.
- Child survivors.
- Crystal Night, 1938.
- Jews -- Migrations.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Psychological aspects.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Children.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- Women.
- Video tapes.
- Holocaust survivors.
Places
- Germany.
- DuĚsseldorf (Germany)
- Utrecht (Netherlands)
- Frankenberg (Hesse, Germany)
Genre
- Oral histories. -- ftamc