Rene D. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Rene D., who was born in Ans, Belgium in 1923. He recalls his family's Catholic, right wing orientation; exposure to his grandfather's more liberal perspective; attending high school in Liège; joining the military during the German invasion in 1940; returning home after German victory; resuming his studies; learning his grandfather was hiding a Jewish family; being asked to join the Resistance; distributing pamphlets and tracking train movements; hiding to avoid forced labor; arrest; incarceration for five months at St. Leonard prison; transfer to Esterwegen as a "Nacht und Nebel" prisoner; forced labor; prisoner solidarity regardless of national origin; hunger and humiliation; transfer to Geisingen to await trial; suspension of the tribunal; transfer to Dachau; horrific conditions; conflict over a Red Cross package; brief hospitalization; liberation by United States troops; repatriation; a long recuperation; and resuming his education. Mr. D. discusses the development of his political beliefs; loss of his religious faith in camp; the importance to his survival of mutual prisoner support; never discussing or dwelling on his camp experiences, although never forgetting them; sharing little of his story with his children; and nightmares.

3 videocassettes