Marcel S. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Marcel S., who was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, France in 1913, one of five children. He recalls his father's rabbinical career; becoming a rabbi (as did his younger brother), a dentist, and an engineer; his father's death in 1934; organizing boycotts of German goods; serving in the French army; July 1940 demobilization in Châteauroux; living in Lyon with his wife and son; termination of his job because he was Jewish; hiding; Maquis activities in Brénod; arrest with his wife in Lyon in August 1943; incarceration in Montluc prison; torture by Klaus Barbie; transfer with his wife to Drancy; deportation to Auschwitz in October 1943; transfer to Buna/Monowitz; slave labor; a privileged job as secretary in the infirmary; resistance organization within the camp; beatings resulting in permanent disability; group sabotage of the work; public hanging of his wife's cousin and escapees; learning his wife and brother had been killed; a death march to Gleiwitz in January 1945; transport in open train cars to Oranienburg; Czechs throwing them food from overpasses; transfer to Flossenbürg and Regensburg as punishment for helping other prisoners; his privileged position as a secretary leading to helping others; a death march to Dachau; liberation by United States troops; repatriation to Paris; reunion with his son; remarriage; and the births of two more children. Mr. S. discusses group relations in the camps; his passionate Jewish faith; sharing his experiences with his children; and visiting Auschwitz to convince the Carmelite nuns to relocate.

2 videocassettes