Gertrude M. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Gertrude M., who was born in Germany in 1915. She recalls a happy childhood; living with aunts in Alzey; cordial relations with non-Jews; attending business college; working in Cologne; her father's arrest in 1933 as a Social Democrat; moving to Mainz after his release; her fiance's emigration to the United States in 1938; difficulties leaving Germany after Kristallnacht; obtaining passage on the St. Louis to Havana in May 1939; refusal by the Cuban government to allow debarkation of any passengers; futile attempts to obtain landing rights by the Joint; forced return to Europe; and joining relatives in Rotterdam. Mrs. M. describes the bombardment of Rotterdam; working in Bussum; having her name removed from official Jewish lists in 1942 so she could disapppear; hiding with several families; severe food shortages in Utrecht from October 1944 onward; her arrest in March 1945 in spite of having false papers; imprisonment in Utrecht and Amsterdam; release on April 18th; and liberation by British troops. She recounts reunion with her fiance (he was in the United States military) in July; their marriage; emigration to the United States in 1946; and their children's births.

2 videocassettes