Thomas F. Holocaust testimony (HVT-3855) [videorecording] / interviewed by Peter Salner and Ingrid Antalová, January 3, 1996.

Bratislava, Slovakia : Milan Šimečka Foundation, 1996.

1 videorecording (2 hr., 18 min.) : col.

Slovak

This testimony cannot be used for commercial purposes. No materials claims can be made against the testimony donor as a result of this testimony.

Videotape testimony of Thomas F., who was born in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia (presently Slovakia), in 1934, the oldest of three children. He recounts his family's assimilated lifestyle; many non-Jewish friends in their building; Passover celebrations with about two hundred relatives; beatings by Hlinka guards during a visit to his grandparents in 1939; harassment by Hlinka guards and others; forced relocation to another apartment in approximately 1940; exemption from deportation obtained by his father's non-Jewish friend; round-up in September 1944; his mother marking the required forms that they were Roman Catholics; a soldier releasing his mother, him, and his sister as non-Jews; hiding in a monastery; a non-Jewish family friend hiding him and his sister after the arrival of Germans; having to dress as a girl; visiting their mother who was hidden next door; liberation by Soviets in 1945; his father's return; and his brother's birth in 1947. Mr. F. discusses attributing his survival to his mother; the names of many non-Jews who helped them; their move to Vienna; his father's poor health and nightmares for years; his father painting his concentration camp experiences; organizing shows of his father's art work in several cities; and not selling the art but presenting paintings to prominent people and institutions, such as Yad Vashem. He shows some of the paintings and photographs.

June 01, 2002

Thomas F. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-3855). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.

Thomas F. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-3855). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.

Oral histories (document genres)