Eva S. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Eva S., who was born in Czechoslovakia, one of seven children. She recounts her oldest sister's death prior to her birth; being raised by her grandmother when her mother was ill; her mother's death; cordial relations with non-Jews; Hungarian occupation; anti-Jewish restrictions; her eldest sister's emigration to the United States; her father's failed efforts to emigrate; harsh treatment from neighbors and former friends; her father's draft into forced labor; each child living with one of her mother's sisters; her father's return; reuniting of the family; German occupation in spring 1944; deportation to Irshava, the Munkács ghetto a week later, then Auschwitz/Birkenau after three weeks; separation from her sisters because she was carrying her baby cousin; a prisoner taking the baby from her, which saved her life; finding her sisters and cousin; vowing to remain together; transfer to Płaszów; having to remove the clothing of non-Jews who were killed in front of them; wanting to die herself; encouragement from her sisters; local prisoners sharing extra food; slave labor; praying with a woman who tracked the Jewish holidays; transfer to Auschwitz/Birkenau three months later; being tattooed; transfer to Neustadt; her sister Lilly saving other prisoners; a German civilian worker leaving her extra food; refusing his offer to hide her, wanting to stay with her sisters and cousin; a death march; surviving due to the German in charge; carrying one of their sisters when she gave up; arrival at Gross-Rosen, then train transfer to Bergen-Belsen; envying the dead; maintaining her belief in God; liberation by British troops; living in displaced persons camps in Bergen-Belsen and Celle; assistance from UNRRA; antisemitic harassment by Germans; and emigration to the United States in 1948. Ms. S. notes seldom discussing her experiences with non-survivors, including her oldest sister; some women singing and dancing in the camps; and pervasive painful memories. She shows photographs and documents.

2 videocassettes