Joseph K. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 4147
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Joseph K., who was born in a Polish village near Iwye (presently Iŭe, Belarus), one of five children. He recalls attending the Tarbut school in Iwye (only five out of sixty classmates survived); Soviet occupation; his bar mitzvah in 1939; German invasion in 1941; ghettoization in Iwye; a mass shooting of 2,500 Jews; his father bribing a guard to let them go to Lida; brief imprisonment; release to the Lida ghetto; slave labor on the railroad; his mother arranging his and his brothers' escape to the partisans; joining Tuvia Bielski's brigade; fleeing German attacks; living with his brothers in the forests near their native town from July 1943 to May 1944; assistance from a few non-Jews (he is still in touch with one farmer); observing Germans retreat; liberation by Soviet troops; returning to Iwye; his brothers' draft into the Soviet military; reunion with an uncle; traveling to Łódź, then with Beriḥah to Kraków, Bratislava, and Austria; living in Bindermichl displaced persons camp; assistance from UNRRA and the Joint; traveling to Rome; and emigrating to the United States to join relatives in 1947. Mr. K. is emotional as he tells his story.

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

  • K., Joseph, -- 1926-
  • Bielski, Tuvia.

Corporate Bodies

  • United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.
  • American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
  • Beriḥah (Organization)

Subjects

  • Soviet occupation.
  • Mass killings.
  • Partisans.
  • Hiding.
  • Aid by non-Jews.
  • Postwar experiences.
  • Refugee camps.
  • World War, 1939-1945 -- Jewish resistance.
  • World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Belarus.
  • Brothers.
  • Escapes.
  • Forced labor.
  • Jews -- Belarus -- Lida.
  • World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, German.
  • Jews -- Belarus -- Iŭe.
  • World War, 1939-1945 -- Atrocities.
  • Jewish ghettos.
  • Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives.
  • World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Jewish.
  • Video tapes.
  • Men.
  • Holocaust survivors.

Places

  • Bindermichl (Austria : Refugee camp)
  • Iwje (Poland)
  • Iwje ghetto.
  • Lida ghetto.
  • Poland.
  • Iŭe (Belarus)
  • Łódź (Poland)
  • Kraków (Poland)
  • Bratislava (Slovakia)
  • Rome (Italy)
  • Lida (Belarus)

Genre

  • Oral histories. -- aat
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.