Lowit, Harry Petr (Oral history)

Czechoslovakian Jewish child inmate of Theresienstadt and Birkenau Familienlager camps, 1942-1944; inmate of Auschwitz, Melk and Ebensee camps, 1944-1945; escaped from Ebensee camp, 4/1945

REEL 1 Recollections of background in Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1930-1939: family circumstances; education. Recollections of German occupation of Czechoslovakia, 1939-1942: emergence of Czech antisemitism; question of effect of persecution on religious beliefs; attitude towards wearing Star of David; missed opportunity of family going to Bogota; story of father's arrest, execution and funeral; move to Kostelec. Various aspects of period as inmate in Theresienstadt, 6/1942- 12/1943: accommodation and reasons for lack of knowledge of experience in camp. Recollections of period as inmate in Birkenau Familienlager and Auschwitz I 1942- 1944: role as messenger for Irma Grese and Josef Kramer; layout of accommodation; reasons for keeping hair; question of culture shock of camp life and adapting to surroundings. REEL 2 Continues: experience of Familienlager and last sight of mother; character of messenger work; aid given to other inmates through his privileged position; question of guilt for working with Germans; treatment received from Josef Kramer; story of how his affidavit was read out at Nuremberg trials; camp hierarchy; nature of gas chamber and crematoriums; question of adapting to brutality of camp regime; role opening and closing of main Auschwitz gate; contact with Höss and Doctor Josef Mengele; illnesses endured during imprisonment. REEL 3 Continues: punishment of escapers; suicides; question of childrens' easier adaptation to camp regime than adults; decimation of family during Holocaust; question of lack of knowledge of sexual matters; awareness of progress of war. Aspects of journey from Auschwitz to Mauthausen, 1/1945: conditions on forced march; train journey on coal wagons. Aspects of period as inmate of Mauthausen and Melk, 1945: reception in camp; method of killing new transports in Mauthausen; move to Melk. Recollections of period as inmate of Ebensee, 4/1945-5/1945: witnessing incidents of cannibalism; escape with camp and hiding on farm. Recollections of period as refugee in Austria and GB, 1945-1947: liberation; crossing bombed bridge on route to refugee camp in Linz; reaction to freedom. REEL 4 Continues: reasons for keeping camp tattoo; mother's situation; reasons for not wishing to return to Czechoslovakia; decision to travel to Belgium with his friend; conditions on journey from Austria to Belgium via Munich; stay in Antwerp; making contact with uncle in GB; arrival in GB, 1/1946; continuing education; formative nature of camp experience. Recollections of visits to Czechoslovakia in 1947 and 1989: six weeks visit, 1947; question of compensation. REEL 5 Continues: finding picture of himself and mother hidden near his grandmother's house; return to Prague, 1989; visit to family villa, meeting with childhood friend. Reflections on Holocaust experiences: importance of recording experiences; question of how background was ill suited for survival in camps.