Gabriel D., Sylvain D., and Danielle H. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 2664
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of three siblings born in Paris, France: Gabriel D. (1937), his brother Sylvain D. (1939), and their sister Danielle H. (1936). They recount their grandparents' emigration from eastern Europe; their father's United States citizenship and their mother's British (she was born in Palestine); German invasion; their father's arrest in December 1941, after the U.S. entered the war; his privileged status as a U.S. citizen; visiting him; receiving financial support from relatives in Palestine; assistance from non-Jewish neighbors; applying to join their grandparents in Palestine; arrest with their mother in January 1944; incarceration in Drancy; a receptionist warning their mother to destroy their French citizenship papers and claim them on her British passport; their mother's efforts to keep them clean and fed; transfer to Vittel with other British nationals to be used in a prisoner exchange; receiving Red Cross packages; attending Catholic school; exemption from prayers; emigration to Haifa via Istanbul; brief incarceration in ?Atlit; living with their grandparents; and returning to Paris via Marseille in 1947. They discuss adjusting to life with their father; varying perceptions of their experiences; their paternal grandparents remaining in Paris during the entire war; the importance to their survival of their mother's determination and British citizenship; and their close relationship with relatives in Israel.

Extent and Medium

4 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. This testimony may not be used for commercial purposes.

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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Corporate Bodies

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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.