Early Holocaust testimony

As the persecution and mass murder of European Jews unfolded, and shortly after the liberation, activists set out to document the fate of their communities. Jewish historical committees in several countries collected documents, artifacts and testimonies and brought together a major body of evidence - yet one which was later forgotten or used reluctantly. The edition, for the first time, brings together samples of early testmonies of Jewish witnesses and survivors taken before the 1960s.

The edition was expanded in 2024 by a series of unique Yiddish testimonies.

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Introduction
Sharon Kangisser Cohen: Who? Where? and How? Establishing the Story: Early Recollections of a Devastating Past
History of early testimony collections

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All testimonies
By archive: Hungarian Jewish Archives | Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw | Jewish Museum in Prague | The Wiener Library | Yad Vashem Archives
By indices: Subjects | People | Organisations | Places

Example testimonies

A. K., male, on his labour service in the Hungarian army and his time as a POW of the Soviet Army

EHRI-ET-DEGOB3538

1945-11-13 | National Committee for Attending Deportees (DEGOB)

Hungarian Jewish Archives, DEGOB, Protocol no. 3538. Original in Hungarian.

Testimony of 31-year-old Dr. A.K. on his hardships as a labor serviceman in the Hungarian Army on the Eastern front in 1942/43, where he deserted along with 41 comrades and joined the partisans.

Moyshe Broderzon about German methods of torture and humiliation of Jews in occupied Poland

EHRI-ET-SOV004

1941 | Łódź

Dos blut ruft tsu nekome (Moscow: Der emes, 1941), pp. 100–104. Original in Yiddish.

Report of Moyshe Broderzon the Yiddish writer, who analyzes the German methods of torture and humiliation of Jews in occupied Poland.

Ela Wowsi, the experiences of the Latvian Jewess in the camps in Riga, Stutthof and Torun

EHRI-ET-ZIH3010081

1945 | Lila Wowsi

Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, Holocaust Survivor Testimonies (coll. 301), Lila Wowsi Testimony (301/81). Original in Polish.

Testimony of Ela Wowsi regarding the establishment of the Daugavpils Ghetto in July 1941, the liquidation actions in 1942, the mass executions during the final liquidation of the ghetto, and her imprisonment in the German concentration camps in Toruń…

Karel Abeles, on escape from Teplice, imprisonment in Łódź, Auschwitz and Gusen

EHRI-ET-JMP012

1945-08-16 | Karel Abeles (later name Brožík) | Prague

Jewish Museum in Prague, Documents of Persecution, inv. no 80. Original in Czech.

Testimony of Karel Abeles (later name Brožík), which became a part of the “documentation campaign” in Prague. Abeles describes being forced to leave his hometown Teplice in the Czechoslovak borderland in the fall of 1938. His family moved to Prague,…

Max Mannheimer, experiences in the Netherlands, Theresienstadt and Auschwitz, 1933–1945

EHRI-ET-YV3549264

1945-07

Yad Vashem Archives, The Ball-Kaduri Collection: Contemporary testimonies and reports regarding the Holocaust of the Jews of Germany and Central Europe, 1943-1960 (O.1), file no. 3549264.Original in English.

Personal report by Max Mannheimer, born in 1918, regarding his experiences in Amsterdam, The Hague, Westerbork, Theresienstadt, and Auschwitz.

Ursula Finke, underground life in Berlin

EHRI-ET-WL16560458

1957

The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, Eyewitness testimony Collection (coll. 1656), 458. Original in German.

Testimony of Ursula Finke, who describes the increasing discrimination after 1933 and the blackmailing of her father. She finished school early and learned dressmaking. Finke was assigned to forced labor in a coat factory and moved to a “Jewish…

Bernat Landau, experiences at camps in Hungary, Poland and Germany

EHRI-ET-YV4693907

1946-04-04

Yad Vashem Archives, Questionnaires filled out by children in the Foehrenwald DP camp, 1945-1946 (M.1), file no. 4693907.Original in English.

Questionnaire filled out by Bernat Landau (a child born in Kisvarda, Hungary, in 1928) in the Wolfratshausen DP camp.

Anonymous Jewish man, incarceration in Dachau after Kristallnacht

EHRI-ET-WL1375B327

The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, Kristallnacht Reports (coll. 1375), B. 327. Original in German.

Testimony of a Jewish business owner recorded shortly after the November Pogrom in 1938 describing the progression of laws that led to the destruction of his business (and those of other Jews), including the boycott of Jewish businesses and…

Herta Bondyová, description of harsh living conditions in Bergen-Belsen

EHRI-ET-JMP009

1945-05-27 | Herta Bondyová | Prague

Jewish Museum in Prague, Documents of Persecution, inv. no 80. Original in Czech.

Testimony of Herta Bondyová describing in a literary way what followed after her deportation from Auschwitz to Bergen-Belsen. She tells emotionally the stories of her fellow prisoners and points out the harsh living conditions in the camp.

Sheine Weiner, transport from the Kaunas Ghetto to Riga, 1942

EHRI-ET-YV3540604

Kaunas

Yad Vashem Archives, The Central Historical Commission of the Central Committee of Liberated Jews in the U.S. Zone (M.1.E), file no. 3540604. Original in Yiddish.

Testimony of Sheine Weiner regarding the transport from the Kaunas Ghetto to Riga, 1942.

Johanna Rosenthal, experiences in the Riga ghetto and various camps, 1942–1945

EHRI-ET-YV3549213

1945-05-26

Letter from Johanna Rosenthal, a survivor of the Jewish community in Potsdam, describing her deportation along with most of the community members to the Riga Ghetto, and some to the Kaiserwald, Stutthof, Salaspils, Bergen-Belsen, and probably…

Isaak Berner, the persecution of Jews in the Riga ghetto

EHRI-ET-JMP018

Isaak Berner

Jewish Museum in Prague, Documents of Persecution, inv. no 80. Original in German.

Testimony of Isaak Berner, which became a part of the “documentation campaign” in Prague. Berner describes the beginning of the Nazi occupation in Riga and the persecution of Jews that followed. In October 1941, Jews from Riga were forced to moved…

New documents

Etka Żółtak, life in hiding after the liquidation of the Czyżew ghetto

EHRI-ET-ZIH3010545

1945-07-02 | Czyżew

JHI, 301, Relacja Etki Żółtak (301/545) Original in Yiddish.

Testimony of Etka Żółtak regarding the experiences of Jews in Czyżew during the German occupation.

Niusia Białoszer, first months of the German occupation in Vilnius

EHRI-ET-ZIH3010317

1945 | Vilnius

JHI, 301, Relacja Niusi Białoszer (301/317) Original in Yiddish.

Testimony of Niusia Białoszer on the capture of Vilnius by the Germans and the confiscation of Jewish shops and houses. She recalls the synagogue and ritual objects burning, the imposition of badges with the Star of David, and the early executions of…

Rafael Kirszenblum, tale of the inhabitant of Siemiatycze

EHRI-ET-ZIH3010107

1945 | Siemiatycze

JHI, 301, Relacja Rafaela Kirszenbluma (301/107) Original in Yiddish.

Testimony of Rafael Kirszenblum on the Siemiatycze Ghetto, which was established in July 1942. A few months later, the first liquidation action took place. He escaped to a partisan unit in the forests. The second liquidation action at Siemiatycze was…

Maks Rössler, in the camps in Rozwadów and Stalowa Wola

EHRI-ET-ZIH3010036

1945 | Wieliczka

JHI, 301, Relacja Maksa Rösslera (301/36) Original in Yiddish.

Testimony of Maks Rössler, who describes the liquidation of the Wieliczka Ghetto, the mass execution of Jews near Niepołomice, and the living conditions and forced labor in the concentration camps in Rozwadów and Stalowa Wola.

Lida Braun, in the Hlyboke ghetto and in the Soviet partisan unit

EHRI-ET-ZIH3010025

1945 | Głębokie/Hlyboke

JHI, 301, Relacja Lidy Braun (301/25) Original in Yiddish.

Testimony of Lida Brau on the establishment of two ghettos in Hlyboke, one for the younger and one for the older Jews, executions, liquidation actions, Jewish self-defense, and transports to Lublin. After the loss of her family, she run away to the…

Karol Tajgman, deportation from Warsaw and imprisonment in the extermination camp in Treblinka

EHRI-ET-ZIH3010005

1944-09-05 | Warsaw

JHI, 301, Relacja Karola Tajgmana (301/5) Original in Yiddish.

Testimony of Karol Tajgman regarding the liquidation action in the Warsaw Ghetto and his deportation to the Treblinka extermination camp, from which he escaped during the revolt.

Leyb Rozentsvayg, on his flight to Lublin and eventually Warsaw in an attempt to escape German invasion

EHRI-ET-WL05320004

1939-10-14 | Mińsk Mazowiecki

The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, coll. 532, protocol no. 4. Original in Yiddish.

Testimony of Leyb Rozentsvayg, recorded on 14 October 1939 and describing his flight to Lublin and eventually Warsaw in an attempt to escape the German invasion. He describes the devastation wrought by bombardment and witnessed Jews being rounded up…

Shloyme Perkal, on bombings of Międzyrzec Podlaski, and movement of Jewish refugees toward Chełm and Piaski

EHRI-ET-WL05320010

1939-11-12 | Międzyrzec

The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, coll. 532, protocol no. 10. Original in Yiddish.

Testimony of Shloyme Perkal, recorded on 12 November 1939 and describing his experiences in Międzyrzec Podlaski at the time of the German invasion of Poland, including bombardments and mass casualties as well as the arrival of refugees who fled other…

Leyb Blumberg, in hiding in Warsaw then escape to Vilnius in October 1939

EHRI-ET-WL05320006

1939-11-16 | Bialystok

The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, coll. 532, protocol no. 6. Original in Yiddish.

Brief testimony of Leyb Blumberg, recorded on 16 November 1939 and describing his flight from Warsaw to Vilnius in October 1939, during which he and his fellow travelers were not bothered by German troops. They reached Vilnius without difficulty.

A fifteen-year-old youth, on the German invasion of Wyszków and surrounding areas

EHRI-ET-WL05320003

1939-11-15 | Przasnysz

The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, coll. 532, protocol no. 3. Original in Yiddish.

Testimony of a fifteen-year-old youth, recorded on 15 November 1939 and describing the German invasion of Wyszków and surrounding areas. Y. M. Sh. describes refugees, including many Jewish refugees, who fled from occupied areas into the village and…

Loyba Klar, experiences in Saukenai, Zagare, in hiding, and camps in Germany

EHRI-ET-YV3552513

1947-08-22 | Saukenai

Yad Vashem Archives, Koniuchowsky Collection: Testimonies Regarding the Holocaust of Lithuanian Jewry, 1945-1981 The Central Historical Commission of the Central Committee of Liberated Jews in the U.S. Zone (O.71), file no. 3552513. Original in Yiddish.

Testimony of Loyba Klar regarding her experiences in hiding in Šaukėnai, Žagarė, Užventis, and Šiauliai, and in camps in Germany.

Mrs. Mitzel, survival with her children in the forests of eastern Galicia

EHRI-ET-YV3540639

Chortkiv

Yad Vashem Archives, The Central Historical Commission of the Central Committee of Liberated Jews in the U.S. Zone (M.1.E), file no. 3540639. Original in Yiddish.

Testimony of Mitzel regarding her survival with her children in the forests of eastern Galicia.

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