Alfred F. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Alfred F., who was born in Cologne, Germany in 1927. He recalls emigration with his mother and brother to Holland in 1933; his father joining them; attending school in Zaandam; German invasion; difficulty dealing with anti-Jewish restrictions; deportation with his family to Westerbork; separation from his mother; living with his father and brother in a barrack; working as a messenger, and learning news from recent arrivals; attempts not to be "on the lists" for deportation; deportation with his mother, father, and brother to Bergen-Belsen in 1944; advantages due to their Palestine visas; his parents smuggling a hammer to him which led to a better job as a carpenter; starvation; roll calls; witnessing surgery performed without anesthesia; his mother's occasional visits; evacuation by train; and liberation in Tro?bitz by United States and Soviet troops. Mr. F. describes their return to Holland; working as a diamond cutter in Amsterdam; studying languages in school; and emigration to the United States. He discusses his decision to forgive and go on with his life after a trip to Germany and never speaking to his children about his experiences.
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
- F., Alfred, -- 1927-
Corporate Bodies
- Bergen-Belsen (Concentration camp)
- Westerbork (Concentration camp)
Subjects
- Holocaust survivors.
- Video tapes.
- Men.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Children.
- Forced labor.
- Family.
- Mothers and sons.
- Fathers and sons.
- Brothers.
- Child survivors.
- Concentration camps -- Psychological aspects.
- Jews -- Migrations.
- Refugees, Jewish.
- Postwar experiences.
- Mutual aid.
Places
- Germany.
- TroĚbitz (Germany)
- Amsterdam (Netherlands)
- Zaandam (Netherlands)
- Cologne (Germany)
Genre
- Oral histories. -- aat