Albert H. Holocaust testimony
Abstract
Videotape testimony of Albert H., who was born in 1920 near LieĚge, Belgium, an only child. He recounts that his grandfather had been a priest but left the order; his father's union activities; German invasion in May 1940; military draft; serving in Charleroi; evacuation to Boulogne-sur-Mer; capture as a prisoner of war; release after a few weeks; marriage; his son's birth in January 1942; joining the Resistance; heading a clandestine press; hiding; living apart from his family in order not to endanger them; committing acts of sabotage; arrest in November 1943; imprisonment and torture; refusing to admit anything; transfer to Bergen-Belsen in winter 1944; harsh conditions including lice, cold, and sleep deprivation; transfer a month later to a very small camp; slave labor constructing cement blocks and digging trenches; escaping with two friends; liberation by Canadian troops days later; repatriation; and recuperating for four months. Mr. H. notes he has nightmares resulting from his experiences.
Extent and Medium
4 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
- H., Albert, -- 1920-
Corporate Bodies
- Bergen-Belsen (Concentration camp)
Subjects
- Video tapes.
- Concentration camp inmates.
- Prisoners of war -- Belgium.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, Belgian.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narrative, Belgian.
- Men.
- Forced labor.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, German.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Belgium.
- Prisoners of war -- Germany.
- Postwar effects.
- Postwar experiences.
- Nightmares
- Escapes.
- Hiding.
- Resistance.
Places
- Belgium.
- Charleroi (Belgium)
- Boulogne-sur-Mer (France)
Genre
- Oral histories. -- aat