Joseph W. Holocaust testimony (HVT-1513) [videorecording] / interviewed by Bernard Weinstein and Freda Remmers, March 30 and April 6, 1989.

Union, N.J. : Kean College Oral Testimonies Project, 1989.

2 videorecordings (1 hr., 55 min., and 1 hr., 25 min.) : col.

English

Videotape testimony of Joseph W., who was born in Kurów, Poland in 1924, the oldest of three children. He recounts antisemitic harassment at school; his father's Polish military service; German invasion; briefly fleeing with his mother and siblings; his father's return; forced labor in Janiszów; he and his brother escaping a round-up in Końskowola (he never saw his mother and sister again); returning home; reunion with his father; hiding by himself on farms and in fields, then in a forest with other Jews, including an aunt; leaving to find food; learning the others had been killed; receiving food from a local woman; taking care of a maternal aunt in hiding; their capture by German soldiers; escaping (his aunt was killed); liberation by Soviet troops in 1944; draft into the Polish division of the Soviet army; battling against the Germans in Praga; transfer to Katowice; learning his father had been killed by the Armia Krajowa; reunion with his brother; deserting; traveling with his brother to Łódź, then illegally to Bratislava, Vienna, Wels, Salzburg, and Badgastein; and emigration to the United States in 1949. Mr. W. discusses several captures and escapes; not trusting anyone, which helped him to survive; and difficulties sharing his experiences with his children.

June 01, 2002

Joseph W. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1513). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.

Joseph W. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-1513). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.

Oral histories (document genres)