Jewish Museum in Prague, Terezín Collection, inv. no 343. Original in Czech.
Testimony of Edita Ornsteinová, which became a part of the “documentation campaign” in Prague. Ornsteinová describes the history of Theresienstadt from its beginning to the liberation of the ghetto by the Red Army. The core of her testimony revolves…
1945-07-13 | National Committee for Attending Deportees (DEGOB)
Hungarian Jewish Archives, DEGOB, Protocol no. 1459. Original in Hungarian.
Testimony of B.B. and B.J., both 24, on anti-Jewish atrocities in Munkács/Mukačevo before and after the German occupation, including the desecration of the synagogue on the so-called “Black Sabbath” in the spring of 1944, the ghetto and transit camp…
Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, Holocaust Survivor Testimonies (coll. 301), Mejer Lencow Testimony (301/805). Original in Polish.
Testimony of Meier Lenc, who lived in the Sokal Ghetto until its liquidation and then escaped to the “Aryan side”. He was captured by German police and later ran away from the grave he had been forced to dig for himself. He spent several months in…
Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, Holocaust Survivor Testimonies (coll. 301), Leon Perelsztejn Testimony (301/106). Original in Polish.
Testimony of Leon Perelsztejn, who after his arrest in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski was sent to the Treblinka extermination camp, where he was assigned to work at the tool house. He describes the crematoria and methods of burning corpses as well as his…
The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, Kristallnacht Reports (coll. 1375), B. 189. Original in Dutch.
Report of a courier of the Dutch Children’s Committee about her experiences in the “Aktion Gildemeester”, a Nazi-run operation to evacuate Jews from Vienna, and the Swedish Mission. She writes about the difficulties surrounding the transport of…
The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, Kristallnacht Reports (coll. 1375), B. 307. Original in German.
A letter from an unidentified person and their mother after they emigrated from Czechoslovakia to New York City in December 1938 following the events of the November Pogrom. The author describes the destruction of synagogues and Jewish properties…
The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, Kristallnacht Reports (coll. 1375), B. 310. Original in German.
A series of letters written by Leni, a 12-year-old girl from Vienna, to a “Frau Z”, later referred to as “Auntie”. The letters discuss the difficulties of taking care of her young cousin Hans after the recent death of her parents and the…
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…
The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, Eyewitness testimony Collection (coll. 1656), 158. Original in German.
Testimony of Renate Lasker-Allais, who was deported to Auschwitz in December 1943 after one and a half years in prison. She was arrested for helping French POWs escape. She describes in detail life and death in Auschwitz. Lasker-Allais had knowledge…
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…
