John M. Holocaust testimony (HVT-1031) [videorecording], July 9, 1987.

Auburn, Me. : Holocaust Human Rights Center of Maine, 1987.

1 videorecording (1 hr., 12 min.) : col.

English

Associated material: Mizner, John. Interview 31598. Visual History Archive, USC Shoah Foundation. Access at https://vha.usc.edu.

Videotape testimony of John M., who was born in approximately 1932. He recalls his family's sense of being Austrian, not Jewish (he was baptized); knowing they were Jewish due to antisemitism; leaving Vienna six weeks after the Anschluss; being placed with his brother in hiding in a convent in Belgrade; living in Nice for several months; departing for England; attending many schools, sometimes with his brother, sometimes alone; seeing his mother infrequently (she provided important emotional support); harassment as Germans; changing their last name to their mother's maiden name (their father had left them earlier); and emigration to the United States almost seven years later. Mr. M. discusses his continuing sense of being an outsider; beginning to feel more Jewish after reading about the Holocaust; admiration for his mother's ingenuity and strength; his children not understanding why they had no religion, although not being disturbed by it; and not considering himself a "survivor" in order not to trivialize the experiences of those who suffered so much more than he.

June 01, 2002

John M. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1031). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.

John M. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1031). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.

Oral histories (document genres)