David H. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of David H., who was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (presently Serbia) in 1923, the ninth of ten children (four died before his birth). He recalls three years of high school; participating in Hashomer Hatzair; working until April 1941; briefly fleeing during German bombardment; German occupation; forced labor clearing bombing rubble; encounters with a Ustaša; a non-Jew warning them of a round-up; his brother's friend hiding him, his brother, and younger sister; his older sister, a dentist, obtaining false papers for the entire family from a patient; one brother not evading the round-up (they never saw him again); hiding with non-Jews in several places; his father joining them; the whole family traveling to Skopje using their false papers; encountering Chetniks on the train; a local uncle visiting them; his aunt informing them that uncle and his children had been taken in a round-up; fleeing to Italian-occupied Uroševac; one brother's colleague driving them to Prizren; living with a Turkish family beginning in December 1941; his sister working as a dentist; moving to their host's relatives in January 1942 when it became dangerous; German occupation; their host family protecting them from German round-ups due to the tradition of "besa" (a host protecting guests); Italian soldiers bringing them to Kavajë; Albanian police welcoming them; his sister treating the police, local woman, and partisans; visits to Tirana; an uncle joining them; arrival of Germans in September 1943; arrest with his brother; their release; the whole family fleeing to Lushnjë; living with an Albanian woman; not meeting Germans' demands for money resulting in their moving to an Albanian village (his friend Josif L. remained after paying); returning to Skopje in February 1945; draft into the Yugoslav military; serving in Zagreb, Trieste, and other locations; demobilization in early 1946; returning to Belgrade; non-Jewish friends returning their personal property; marriage in 1948; and the births of two sons. Mr. H. notes the killing of most of his extended family and his immediate family's luck in having good connections.

2 videocassettes