Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)

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Saul Alpern’s oral history transcript describes in detail his experiences growing up in Romania before World War II, the beginning of the war, listening to Adolf Hitler on the radio, life in labor camps, forced marches, hiding during the war, anti-Semitism, liberation, Zionist youth organizations, and his memoir.

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The William R. Auld papers include over 800 photographs taken by Major William R. Auld who served with the 31st Photo Reconnaissance Squadron of the Ninth Army Air Force following General George S. Patton throughout the United States, England, France, and Germany.  The William R. Auld papers also include various sketches done by one of his comrades, a promotion notice, and two poems.

Scope and Contents Deborah Gierach's collection of photographs were taken by her late father-in-law (no name given), a B-17 pilot in Europe during the Second World War. The collection consists of scanning from three photograph albums (in German) compiled and produced for the Nazi government as a means to show what the Third Reich was doing during the war. Subjects include Nazi rallies, Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Goering, soldiers, military vehicles, as well as Hitler playing with children and socializing with others. Captions are in German. Organized month to month for separate calendar years of 1939, 1940, 1942. Note: the majority of the photographs do not contain the...

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The collection includes newspaper clippings of articles written by Nunnally. Articles include topics related to her departure from Vienna (and return after the war) as well as her family’s experience during Kristallnacht. She also wrote of her memory of D-Day and V-E Day. A few photographs are included with the articles of her and her family.

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This manuscript memoir relates to Joseph Freilick who served with the 102nd Infanty Division during World War II in the European Theater.

Scope and Contents The papers include photocopies of letters from Henry L. Harrell, Sr. to his wife, Frances Harrell and his children while stationed in Europe in 1945. Harrell moved often, working in France, Germany, and Austria. His letters include recollections of interactions with European civilians, daily operations of POW hospitals, providing sanitation and medical treatment of POWs and Holocaust survivors, as well as religious (Church) services and daily life for GIs. Harrell’s letters also elaborate on diagnoses (pathologies) found in these hospitals, and hint at the experiences of Holocaust survivors and POWs. The letters also include recollections of his travels throughout France, Germany, and...

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Hilbert Levitz's oral history discusses his childhood and teenage years growing up during the war and his career as a professor at multiple universities. His wartime memories consist of learning about Pearl Harbor, Adolf Hitler, his family's involvement in the war, war bonds, the Holocaust, the 1939 World's Fair, and the advancement of technology. Levitz also goes into depth about his short time in the army during the Korean War, his higher education, and computer science.

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The Sylwester B. Knap papers contain an oral history transcript and a political prisoner certificate. Knap's oral history focuses on his childhood during the time World War II began in Europe which includes attempting to find refuge in Czestochowa, his experiences in the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, forced labor, mistreatment, camp selections, contracting Typhus, liberation, becoming wounded, finding his family after the war, his uncles involvement in the resistance movement, and his feelings toward talking about the war.

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This collection contains a transcript of an interview with Leni Mittelacher, who lived in Marburg, Germany during World War II and Allied occupation.

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This collection relates to Diana Naylor Morgan who served as a junior USO hostess in New Jersey during World War II. The collection includes an oral interview with Morgan, news articles, photographs, and letters sent to her from American and British soldiers deployed overseas during World War II.

In the letters, servicemen describe their day to day activities while deployed overseas, their locations, views on the Japanese, and opinions about the Atomic Bomb. A letter dated June 2, 1944, written by an American sailor Ernest Feasy was not censored; Feasy describes how he is waiting for D-Day to arrive.

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Private Ralph Chester Lapham served with the 116th Evacuation Hospital during World War II in the European Theater of Operations. Chester assisted with providing care for former prisoners of Dachau concentration camp after the camp's liberation. The collection contains photographs of the camp and letters describing the unit's work setting up a hospital at Dachau and a Typhus epidemic.

Scope and Contents Includes 2 photographs, a press clipping about Faucon's artwork, and an oral history narrated by Faucon.Rolande R. Faucon lived in Mareuil Sur Ay, Marne, France during World War II. Germany began occupying France after the English retreat in the Spring of 1940. She was a teenage citizen of France when the Germans invaded her town. According to Faucon, the village of Mareuil sur Ay was situated along the Marne River, making the village a prime target for German bombing and transport. Once the Germans occupied the village, Faucon and her family kept to a strict curfew of lights out and food rationing. Her older brother Eli Poulard was sent to a German labor camp for three years...

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Hy Wakstein was a Jewish American serviceman who reached the rank of Staff Sergeant with the 778th Anti-Aircraft-Automatic Weapons Battalion, Self Propelled, (served 1943-46) and discusses his experiences as an Army communications officer in the European theater of World War II in this oral history transcript. Wakstein participated in the Battle of the Bulge, and his division advanced further east into Germany than any other American division.

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This oral history interview transcript relates to Abraham Zuckerman who was a concentration camp survivor from Krakow, Poland during World War II and worked as a slave laborer for Oskar Schindler.