Paul S. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Paul S., who was born in Gvozdets, Poland (presently Hvizdet?s??, Ukraine) in 1916, one of nine children. He recounts attending school; Polish military draft; antisemitism in the military; German invasion; capture and incarceration as a POW; release; returning home, which was under Soviet occupation; German invasion; ghettoization; transfer to Kolomyi?a? ghetto; forced labor for the Wehrmacht; escaping (his family was killed); living in the Tolstoye ghetto; meeting his future wife; acquiring weapons; escaping from another forced labor camp; hiding in various places with his future wife and friends; receiving food and shelter from Polish farmers; liberation by Soviet troops; traveling to Chernivt?s?i ; marriage; returning to Poland; incarceration for several weeks in Czechoslovakia with other refugees en route to Germany; living in Pocking and Windsheim displaced persons camps; his son's birth in 1946; emigration to the United States in 1949 to join his wife's relatives; and his career as a butcher. Mr. S. discusses returning to Europe to visit his wife's hometown and the place where his brother was killed; sharing his experiences with his children; and the importance of luck to his survival.
Extent and Medium
1 videocassette
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
- S., Paul, -- 1916-
Subjects
- Antisemitism -- Prewar.
- Soviet occupation.
- Hiding.
- Aid by non-Jews.
- Mutual aid.
- Postwar experiences.
- Survivor-child relations.
- Jewish ghettos.
- Prisoners of war -- Germany.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, Jewish.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, Polish.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- Men.
- Video tapes.
- Refugee camps.
- Brothers.
- Husband and wife.
- Escapes.
- Forced labor.
- Jews -- Ukraine -- Tovste (Ternopilʹsʹka oblastʹ)
- Jews -- Ukraine -- Kolomyi︠a︡.
- Jews -- Ukraine -- Hvizdet︠s︡ʹ.
- Holocaust survivors.
Places
- Windsheim (Germany : Refugee camp)
- Poland.
- Hvizdet︠s︡ʹ (Ukraine)
- Chernivt︠s︡i (Ukraine)
- Czechoslovakia.
- Kolomyi︠a︡ ghetto.
- Tolstoye ghetto.
- Gvozdets ghetto.
- Pocking (Passau, Germany : Refugee camp)
Genre
- Oral histories. -- aat