Frances L. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Frances L., who served in the United States Army Nurses Corps beginning in July 1941. She recalls postings in Oran, Algeria in the fall of 1942 via Birmingham, England, then Palermo, Italy; attending a dance hosted by General Patton; caring for wounded soldiers, including Germans, behind 7th Army lines in Italy, France and Germany; finding American soldiers who had been tortured and mutilated; and volunteering to administer anti-typhus injections in Dachau two weeks after its liberation. Mrs. L. describes the complete debilitation of the inmates; difficulty injecting them due to extreme emaciation; shock at their condition resulting in her insomnia and weeping at night; finding a painting in a German officer's room which she still owns (she shows it); an American Catholic priest who prayed with a dying Jewish boy; and her loss of faith in God. She discusses returning to the United States; marrying; attending reunions of her division; volunteering as a nurse for a year in Israel in 1968; and ever-present memories of Dachau.
Extent and Medium
1 videocassette (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
- Patton, George S. -- (George Smith), -- 1885-1945.
- L., Frances.
Corporate Bodies
- Dachau (Concentration camp)
- United States. -- Army. -- Army, 7th.
- United States. -- Army Nurse Corps.
Subjects
- Women.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.
- Video tapes.
- Postwar effects.
- Faith.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, American.
Places
- Birmingham (England)
- Oran (Algeria)
- Palermo (Italy)
Genre
- Oral histories. -- aat