Israel M. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Israel M., who was born in Slonim, Poland (today Belarus), in 1937. Mr. M. tells of being sent by his family (whom he never saw again) to visit his uncle in 1941; fleeing east from the German attack with his uncle and family; traveling through Minsk to Kiev, where they entrained for Soviet Central Asia; German air attacks en route; and arrival in Samarqand, Uzbekistan in late 1941. He recounts the lack of food and poor sanitation; the deaths of his relatives from disease; placement in a Russian orphanage in 1942; returning to liberated Poland in 1945; anti-Semitic taunts; being taken by members of a Zionist organization to a kibbutz at ?o?dz?; preparation for illegal emigration to Palestine; and being left in Rome in 1946 after he became ill. He recalls being abducted by a group of orthodox Jews, one of whom helped him contact his relatives in the United States; going with the group to Canada in 1949; returning to Rome in order to emigrate to the United States in 1950; the indifference of his American relatives upon his arrival; and his subsequent education as a Hebrew school teacher.
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
- M., Israel, -- 1937-
Subjects
- Zionist activities.
- Antisemitism -- Postwar.
- Jews -- Migrations.
- Postwar experiences.
- Child survivors.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Children.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Orphanages -- Soviet Union.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Refugees.
- Men.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- Holocaust survivors.
- Video tapes.
Places
- Rome (Italy)
- Slonim (Belarus)
- Samarqand (Uzbekistan)
- Łódź (Poland)
- Belarus.
- Poland.
Genre
- Oral histories. -- aat