Irene P. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 3953
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Irene P., who was born in Paris, France in 1931. She recounts living in Montreuil; French naturalization at age five; German invasion; anti-Jewish restrictions; her father's incarceration in Drancy in 1941 (he did not return); her older brother's placement in a Catholic children's home; being warned by a non-Jewish policeman in July 1942 of an impending round-up; her mother and younger sister going into hiding; staying with her grandmother; their arrest; a non-Jewish policeman (her friend's father) obtaining their release; finding her mother; her mother and sister illegally crossing to the unoccupied zone; being smuggled with her grandmother to Lyon; living briefly in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon; her grandfather's arrival; her grandmother's death; joining her mother and sister at a farm in La Souterraine; attending school in Saint-Sulpice-les-Feuilles; her grandfather's arrest; visiting him; his release; placement by OSE with her sister in a children's home in Le Coudray-Saint-Germer; brief transfer to a home in Chinon during German searches for downed Allied pilots; being brought to Sèvres after the war; and reunion with her mother, grandfather, and brother. Ms. P. recalls illegal immigration to Palestine on the "Exodus"; interception by the British; return to Europe; being forced to stay on board in Port-de-Bouc; incarceration in Lübeck, then Hameln; assistance from the Red Cross; joining her mother and siblings in Israel in 1948; emigration to the United States in 1955; marriage; and belonging to a "Hidden Child" group. She shows photographs.

Extent and Medium

2 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

People

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Places

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.