Jack G. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Jack G., who was born in Bełchatów, Poland in 1923, one of nine children. He recalls joining Betar; a good life until German invasion in 1939; severe rationing; smuggling food; volunteering for forced labor in place of his father; two years in labor camps; a public hanging of prisoners who "stole" food, including his uncle; train transfer to Auschwitz, then Myslowice (Fürstengrube); surviving by "stealing" food; train transport to Dora/Nordhausen; placement with other prisoners on boats on the Elbe River; bombardment by the British who thought they were escaping SS; being plucked from the waters by British troops; seeking surviving relatives; reunion with his sister, his only surviving sibling, in Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp; emigration to Canada; meeting his future wife while visiting the United States; and the births of three children. Mr. G. discusses learning much of his family were killed in Chełmno; a recent visit to Poland; and emotional difficulties hearing or seeing things related to his experiences.

1 videocassette