Alina Z. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 2045
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Alina Z., who was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1922. She recalls attending an ORT school; German invasion; ghettoization; hunger and round-ups; marriage in 1941; jumping from a train to Treblinka with her husband, having been warned by a Pole of their destination; hiding with a farmer; returning to Warsaw because they feared exposure; living on the Aryan side; returning to her parents in the ghetto because of blackmail threats; hiding in bunkers during the uprising; and deportation to Majdanek in May 1943 and Birkenau several months later. Mrs. Z. recalls her realization that she was pregnant; establishing contact with her husband; sharing extra food he supplied with her friends; the midwife taking her son away immediately after birth (she never saw him again); a death march to Ravensbru?ck; transport to Neustadt-Glewe; and liberation. She describes returning to Warsaw; traveling to Katowice and Prague; reunion with her husband in Germany; her second son's birth in Marburg; reunion with her sister; and emigration to the United States. Mrs. Z. discusses her pervasive memories; fears of discussing them with her children, and recently feeling able to talk about her experiences; the importance of learning lessons from this period; and her fears that the lessons are lost when observing events in Yugoslavia.

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

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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.