Benjamin H. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 2978
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Benjamin H., who was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1918. He describes his family's move to Belgium; his father's successful business in Brussels; attending school in Anderlecht; German invasion; his family's arrest attempting to enter Switzerland; arrest with his wife in the Pyrenees fleeing to Spain; internment in Gurs; his release through Abbe? Alexandre Glasberg; obtaining false papers; joining FTPF (the French communist underground movement); his second arrest; torture during interrogations in Limoges; transfer to Compie?gne, then Buchenwald; and slave labor in Gustloffwerke I. Mr. H. recalls his decision to rely on himself, particularly as opposed to religion; communists' efforts to help each other; learning of his son's birth; transfer to Hadmersleben, then another camp; evacuation to Lovosice; liberation by Soviet troops; traveling to Sokolov via Karlovy Vary; repatriation to Brussels via Wu?rrzburg; a joyful reunion with his friends, wife, and son; and learning of the extermination camps. He notes he remained under his false name as a non-Jew in the camps; the importance of friendship to his survival; and the impossibility of resisting in the camps.

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.

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.