Bela K. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Bela K., who was born in ?o?dz?, Poland in 1929. She recounts a happy childhood despite pervasive antisemitism; a large extended family; her father's mobilization immediately before the war; German invasion; her father's return, seriously wounded; ghettoization; her father's death; forced labor; the deaths of many relatives; hiding during round-ups of children; her grandfather's death; hiding during the ghetto's liquidation; discovery; deportation to Auschwitz; separation from everyone but one aunt; learning about the gas chambers; assistance from her aunt when she was ill and hospitalized; transfer to Oederan; slave labor manufacturing munitions; transfer in March 1945 to Theresienstadt; liberation by Soviet troops; wanting to take revenge, but demurring upon realizing the Germans were humans too; transfer to Prague with other children, then to a group home in Windermere, England; emigrating to join relatives in the United States; and her aunt's arrival. Ms. K. discusses the importance to her survival of being with her aunt; their continuing close relationship; sharing her story with her children; and her inability to be completely happy due to her experiences. She shows photographs.

2 videocassettes