Description
Object description
Polish Jewish inmate in Warsaw and Łódź Ghettos, Poland, 1940-1944; refugee in Soviet Union, 1944-1945; emigrated from Germany to GB, 1948
Content description
REEL 1 Recollections of background in Kalisz, Poland, 1935-1939: family circumstances; religious beliefs; languages spoken; relations between Jews and non-Jews. Recollections of period as refugee during German Occupation of Poland, 1939-1940: sight of German Army troops and flight from Kalisz; family's killing of two German Army soldiers; German Air Force attacks on refugees; search by German soldiers and return to Kalisz; running restaurant purporting to be Poles; betrayal by Poles; abortive flight to Lublin and return to Kalisz, 10/1939; further abortive flight from Kalisz; sight of Germans shooting Polish prisoners of war; escape from synagogue round up;
REEL 2 Continues: smuggling food into synagogue; burning of men in synagogue; flight to Warsaw, 1940. Recollections of period as inmate in Warsaw and Łódź Ghettos, Poland, 1940-1944: father's flight to Soviet Union; circumstances of his appearance in famous 'Warsaw Ghetto' photograph; smuggling supplies into Warsaw Ghetto; living conditions in Warsaw Ghetto; methods of getting in and out of Warsaw Ghetto; attitude of Poles; flight to Lodz Ghetto; escape from Łódź Ghetto to join partisans, 1944; initial meeting with partisans.
REEL 3 Continues: aid recieved from Soviet Army troops; killing of sister by Poles during flight from Łódź Ghetto. Aspects of period as refugee in Soviet Union, 1944-1945: move to children's home in Turkman Soviet Socialist Republic; anti-Semitic incidents; reunion with father; father's life in Soviet Union; character of education. Aspects of attempts to emigrate to GB, 1945-1948: return to Szczecin, Poland; escape into American Sector of Berlin, Germany, 1946; treatment in American Sector of Berlin, Germany; comparison of conditions in Berlin, Germany and Szczecin, Poland; arrangements to move to GB, 1948; reaction to arrival in GB, 1948.
REEL 4 Continues: Reflections on Holocaust experiences: reasons for monitoring anti-Semitism in GB; question of verification of his role in famous 'Warsaw Ghetto' photograph; attitude of Poles towards Jews; belief that the world should have prevented the Holocaust; German atrocities; question of resistance to Germans; incident of killing of Jewish ghetto policeman in Warsaw Ghetto; father's military service with Soviet Army.