Sam A. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Sam A., who was born in 1921 and served with the United States Army 21st Armored Infantry Battalion in World War II. He recounts approaching Mauthausen concentration camp on May 5, 1941, after German troops had left; the pervasive odor; gas chambers; pits filled with naked bodies; ovens with rollers to deliver bodies in an assembly line; and emaciated, dazed inmates. Mr. A. recalls three months of rotating guard duty at the camp while billeted in Linz; gradual improvement in the inmates' condition after treatment by military medical units; and realizing later that the majority of inmates were Jewish. He reads from a letter he wrote his future wife about his experience.
Extent and Medium
2 videocassettes
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
- A., Sam, -- 1921-
Corporate Bodies
- Mauthausen (Concentration camp)
- United States. -- Army. -- Armored Infantry Battalion, 21st.
Subjects
- Liberator.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, American.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- Men.
- Video tapes.
Places
- United States -- Armed Forces -- Europe.
Genre
- Oral histories. -- aat