Jan C. Holocaust testimony

Identifier
HVT 4288
Language of Description
English
Level of Description
Collection
Source
EHRI Partner

Abstract

Videotape testimony of Jan C., a non-Jew, who was born in Antwerp, Belgium in 1922. He recalls being raised by his grandparents in Herentals after his father's death; his mother's remarriage; attending school in Turnhout; working in his stepfather's bakery; military conscription in 1940; posting to Gravelines, France; returning to Herentals; involvement with the Resistance; distributing pamphlets, tracking troop movements, and minor sabotage; arrest; imprisonment in Antwerp, then St. Gilles; harsh interrogations; admitting nothing; being condemned to death; deportation to Esterwegen, Börgermoor, Gross Strehlitz, then Laband; slave labor in munitions factories; a death march to Buchenwald; becoming ill; assistance from another prisoner; liberation by United States troops; repatriation to Brussels; returning to Herentals; marriage, and the births of four children. Mr. C. discusses the leadership role of communists in Buchenwald and shows documents.

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

  • C., Jan, -- 1922-

Corporate Bodies

  • Buchenwald (Concentration camp)
  • Esterwegen (Concentration camp)
  • Börgermoor (Concentration camp)

Subjects

  • Concentration camps -- Sociological aspects.
  • Mutual aid.
  • Postwar experiences.
  • World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, German.
  • World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Belgium.
  • Death marches.
  • Forced labor.
  • Men.
  • Video tapes.
  • World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, Belgian.
  • Concentration camp inmates.

Places

  • Gravelines (France)
  • Laband (Poland : Concentration camp)
  • Belgium.
  • Antwerp (Belgium)
  • Herentals (Belgium)
  • Turnhout (Belgium)

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.