Philip K. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 1300
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

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.

Related Units of Description

  • Associated material: Isabella L. Holocaust testimony [sister] (HVT-1270), Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.

Rules and Conventions

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Process Info

  • compiled by Staff of the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies

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Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.