Paule M. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Paule M., a non-Jew, who was born in I︠E︡nakii︠e︡ve, Russia (presently Ukraine) in 1912. She recounts being in Russia due to her father's employment; her brother's birth; fleeing to the Kola Peninsula during the revolution; her brother's death; moving to England for a year, then Isbergues, France; her sister's birth; moving to Beverwijk; attending a Dutch school; moving to Uccle in 1924; completing university in 1934; becoming a professor of German literature; traveling with her sister in Germany in 1934; observing antisemitic signs; sheltering German refugees; German invasion in May 1940; joining the Front de l'indépendance; hiding Jews, partisans, and illegal refugees; hiding in Wezembeek; arrest in Beerse in summer 1943; interrogation at Avenue Louise; incarceration in St. Gilles; deportation to Essen, Mesum, then Kreuzberg; a trial in Gross Strehlitz; a two-year prison sentence; transfer to Oppeln, then Dessau; volunteering to harvest crops; clandestinely taking vegetables to share with fellow prisoners; sabotaging work assignments; observing Soviet prisoners of war in abysmal conditions; encountering a British POW who sent a letter to her family; escaping with friends; liberation by United States troops; assistance from the Red Cross; working as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Bebra; traveling with a friend to her home in France; her father's arrival; returning home with him; and resuming her teaching position. Ms. M. discusses initially sharing her experiences, then reluctance to do so until recently, and receiving a prisoner of war pension.
Extent and Medium
3 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
- M., Paule, -- 1912-
Corporate Bodies
- International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
- Front de l'indépendance.
Subjects
- Concentration camp inmates.
- Forced labor.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Jews -- Rescue.
- Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust.
- Prisoners of war.
- Antisemitism -- Prewar.
- Sabotage.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, German.
- Partisans.
- Hiding.
- Rescuers.
- Aid by non-Jews.
- Mutual aid.
- Postwar experiences.
- Video tapes.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
- Women.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Belgium.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Belgian.
Places
- Beverwijk (Netherlands)
- Isbergues (France)
- Kola Peninsula (Russia)
- I︠E︡nakii︠e︡ve (Ukraine)
- Bebra (Hesse, Germany)
- Wezembeek-Oppem (Belgium)
- Beerse (Belgium)
- Uccle (Belgium)
- Dessau (Germany : Concentration camp)
- Russia.
Genre
- Oral histories. -- aat