Gontarz, Szmulek (Oral history)

1233646582
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80010128&media_id=81362" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
587322467
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80010128&media_id=81363" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
1422905503
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80010128&media_id=81364" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
1881612080
Use this audio under Non-Commercial licence

Embed this sound recording for online use under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence
By embedding this audio file you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non-Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is:

© IWM

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Embed

<iframe src="https://www.iwm.org.uk/embed/?id=80010128&media_id=81365" height="430" width="480" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Description

Object description

Polish Jewish inmate of Łódź Ghetto, Poland, 2/1940-8/1944; inmate of Auschwitz II -Birkenau Concentration Camp, Poland, 8/1944-1/1945; inmate in Melk Subcamp, Mauthausen Concentration Camp and Mauthausen Concentration Camp, Austria, 1/1945-4/1945

Content description

REEL 1 Recollections of period as schoolchild in Łódź, Poland, 1929-1939: family background; languages spoken; degree of religious practice; relations between Jews and non-Jews; anti-Semitism experienced; question of emigration to Palestine. Aspects of period as schoolchild in Łódź, Poland, 1939-1940: German Air Force raids on Łódź, 1/9/1939; abortive attempts of adult Jewish males to get to Warsaw; confiscation of Jewish homes; German treatment of Jews; difficulty of obtaining food; deportation of Jews from Lodz. Recollections of period as inmate in Lódź Ghetto, Poland, 2/1940-8/1944: establishment of ghetto, 2/1940; opinion of role of Chaim Rumkowski and Jewish Council (Judenrat). REEL 2 Continues: family's work in ghetto; food rations; question of survival in ghetto; German shooting of inmates; inspection of Satler's saddlers workshop; death of German Jews in ghetto; spread of disease; conditions in ghetto; suicides; location of Łódź Ghetto; attitude towards Chaim Rumkowski and Jewish Council (Judenrat); transportation of Jews from ghetto. Recollections of period as inmate in Auschwitz II-Birkenau Concentration Camp, Poland, 8/1944-1/1945: nature of train journey from Łódź Ghetto to camp, 8/1944; processing on arrival in camp; accommodation in barracks. REEL 3 Continues: extraction of gold teeth from inmates; separation from brother; removal to main camp; accommodation and work; learning of gas chambers; conditions; evacuation of camp, 1/1945. Aspects of period as inmate in Melk Subcamp, Mauthausen Concentration Camp, Austria, 1/1945-2/1945: march to Austria, 1/1945; treatment of inmates by kapos; camp conditions. Aspects of period as inmate in Mauthausen Concentration Camp, Austria, 2/1945-4/1945: work duties; rations; conditions in hut in forest near Wels after march away from camp; question of issue of poisoned soup by Germans; liberation by American troops, 5/1945. REEL 4 Continues: Aspects of period in Displaced Persons Camp in Melk, Austria, 1945: decision to stay in camp; problems caused by overeating; relations between Displaced Persons. Aspects of period as Displaced Person in Germany, 1945: discovery of sister Sala in former Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp; revenge taken against Germans; death of sister Sala in road accident, 10/1945; searching for family. Reflections on Holocaust experience: question of escape from concentration camps; forced witnessing of German brutality; psychological impact of experiences; question of survival; attitude towards Germans and Poles; visit to Displaced Persons Camp by General Dwight D Eisenhower.

Object Details

Category: Sound
Related period: 1945-1989 (production), Second World War (content), Second World War (association)
Creator: IWM (Production company)
Wood, Conrad (Recorder)
Gontarz, Szmulek (Interviewee/Speaker)
Production date: 1988-09
Dimensions: whole: Duration 120, Number Of Items 4
Catalogue number: 10348

Object associations

Associated people and organisations

Gontarz, Szmulek
Gontarz, Sala
Rumkowski, Chaim Mordechaj
Ghetto, Łódź, Poland
German Concentration Camp, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, Poland
German Concentration Camp, Mauthausen, Subcamp, Melk, Austria
German Concentration Camp, Mauthausen, Austria
Associated places

Poland
Łódź, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland
Austria
Melk, Lower Austria, Austria
Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Austria
Wels, Upper Austria, Austria
Associated themes

Nazi Europe, 1933-1945
Holocaust

Our collections information

We have over 1.7 million object records online, and we are adding to this all the time. Our records are never finished. Sometimes we discover new information that changes what we know about an object, such as who made it or used it. Sometimes we change how an object is interpreted. We sometimes make mistakes in our spelling, transcription or categorisation, or miss information out of our records.

Read more about our collections and the information we hold. Developing our collections information

If you have concerns about the language in this record, or you have information to improve it, please share your feedback.

We receive a lot of comments and can't respond to each one, but we do read them all and will respond where we can.

Gontarz, Szmulek (Oral history)

Description

Object description

Content description

Object Details

Object associations

Associated people and organisations

Associated places

Associated themes

Our collections information

Related content

HMS Belfast at 80