Philip K. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Philip K., who was born in Kisva?rda, Hungary, in 1924. In this vivid and reflective testimony, Mr. K. describes prewar orthodox Jewish life; participation in a Zionist organization; lifelong conflict, starting in childhood, with his father over Jewish beliefs and practices; and official and extralegal antisemitism. He tells of volunteering as an interpreter in Auschwitz; trying to save inmates by mistranslating their statements; transport to an underground aircraft factory being built by the Organisation Todt at Hussigny, France; sabotage; transport to Hochdorf, then Heilbronn, where he was befriended and given food by a German contractor; transport to Dachau and then Allach, where prisoners protected a hunchbacked comrade; and being wounded during liberation on a train near Tutzing. He recounts participating in establishing Feldafing displaced persons camp; swimming across the Rhine in September 1945 to obtain a Hungarian passport in Switzerland; illegally traveling to Antwerp; and reunion with his father and sisters in the United States. He reflects at length on the psychology of persecutors and victims and on his conviction that the Holocaust represents an unremovable "skin" for survivors.
Extent and Medium
3 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
- K., Philip, -- 1924-
Corporate Bodies
- Organisation Todt (Germany)
- Auschwitz (Concentration camp)
- Feldafing (Displaced persons camp)
- Dachau (Concentration camp)
Subjects
- Forced labor.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Psychological aspects.
- Judaism -- Customs and practices.
- Refugee camps.
- Aid by non-Jews.
- Antisemitism -- Prewar.
- Mutual aid.
- Postwar effects.
- Postwar experiences.
- Zionist activities.
- Video tapes.
- Holocaust survivors.
- Fathers and sons.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- Men.
Places
- KisvaĚrda (Hungary)
- Hungary.
- Tutzing (Germany)
- Antwerp (Belgium)
- Hussigny (France)
- Heilbronn (Germany : Concentration camp)
- Hochdorf (Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany : Concentration camp)
- Allach (Germany : Concentration camp)
Genre
- Oral histories. -- ftamc