Serge L. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 2824
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Serge L., who was born in Skierniewice, Poland in 1922. He recounts his family's communist background; antisemitic incidents; emigrating to Paris in 1936; the outbreak of war in 1939; enlistment in the army (he was not mobilized); resistance activities; deportation with his brother to Beaune-la-Rolande on May 14, 1941; escaping to Paris with assistance from a French woman; voluntarily returning to Beaune-la-Rolande to protect his father; deportation to Auschwitz on June 28, 1942; building the I.G. Farben Buna factory in Monowitz; assistance from a Polish doctor in the hospital; transfer to Budy; eleven days in the punishment block (No. 11) of Auschwitz; work in the SS laundry; and arranging his transfer to Warsaw in October 1943 to avoid punishment. Mr. L. describes the camp; helping ghetto survivors; public hangings; forced march from Sochaczew to ?owicz and Kutno in August 1944; a mass killing near the Bzura river; forced labor in Dachau; German guards fleeing during the evacuation in April 1945; liberation by United States troops; and reunion with his parents in Paris. He discusses the importance of the camp underground to his survival; self-organization of the prisoners; the impact of learning about the Warsaw ghetto revolt; the importance of luck; nightmares; sharing experiences with his children; and legal discrimination against Jewish deportees.

Extent and Medium

3 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.

Related Units of Description

  • Associated material: Stepha S. Holocaust testimony [sister] (HVT-2828), Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.

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.