{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://fortunoff.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/1r6n011152/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Leo G."]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/005/original/Fortunoff-Logo.png?1549333634","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eLeo G. was born on March 17th, 1923 in Bendzin (Będzin), Poland. The city's population was around 90% Jewish. Leo's family was very poor.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHis father was a pious man, educated in matters of religion and Judaism, but not always in a position to provide for the material welfare of his family. He seems to have worked in various positions as a tutor and private teacher. Leo was the fifth child of the family, the youngest of three sons. He had four sisters and in all there were seven children. Leo is the only survivor of the Holocaust in his immediate family.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHe had many friends in the large tenement house, where his family lived in an attic apartment with two unheated rooms. The boys played football together and carried out playful feuds with other cliques from neighboring streets. Leo had already started at seven years of age to earn money as a coal carrier and errand boy. Initially he worked in addition to his school duties, but the need to earn money and help support his family became increasingly important. He attended public school and later a Jewish school. His school days ended with the fifth grade, which coincided with the move of the family to Sosnowiec (Sosnowitz) in 1933. His father tried repeatedly to finance Leo's religious education, but the family appears to have not been able to afford his continued education. Leo found a job with a carpenter and entered into an apprenticeship and he also commuted by train to Bendzin, where he worked in a bicycle saddle factory. His employer seemed to be very happy with his work, because he bought him monthly tickets for the train. The detailed descriptions of work processes that run through Leo's testimony bear witness to his quick grasp of manufacturing processes and to his skill in dealing with different materials and machines.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe German occupation in September 1939 proceeded with great brutality against the civilian population: men were driven from their homes, hunted at a run through the streets, and locked up crammed into tight spaces in the basement of the town hall. There were executions. This was followed by anti-Jewish decrees, the expropriation of Jewish businesses and the formation of a Jewish Council, which among other things, was responsible for recruiting Jewish forced laborers.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLeo was picked up one day on the street, and from then on he had to work for the Germans. For a time, he was still working as a carpenter, because the company where he had his apprenticeship had taken contracts from the German occupiers. At this point in time, he was already detained in a transit camp (Durchgangslager, DuLag), from where he was eventually shipped to Königshütte (now Chorzów, Poland) to work in a fertilizer factory. In early 1942 he was sent on to Ottmuth (now Otmęt, Poland), where he was performed forced labor building a highway. The working conditions were terrible. The brutality of the guards and overseers were apparently intended to compensate for the lack of proper work equipment.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn the early summer of 1942, Leo volunteered for a commando, as carpenters were being sought after. Thus he escaped the deadly work in road construction and was sent to Bunzlau (now Bolesławiec, Poland). There he worked for the Hubert Frank Timber Construction Company, which produced the finished parts for barracks. He was instructed by German carpenters and eventually worked in the machine shop, first as an assistant and then as a machine operator. In the Bunzlau Forced Labor Camp the torment for Leo was not the work, but the living conditions. The brutality of the Kapos was terrible and the prisoners were hunted and on the run from morning to night. Beatings were part of the everyday routine and the flogging of prisoners was a common punishment.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOn February 2nd, 1945 the camp was evacuated and sent on a six-week march. The prisoners slept in barns at night and the hunger was unbearable. They finally reached Mittelbau-Dora Concentration Camp near Nordhausen. There the prisoners from the earthworks came under fire during an air raid and witnessed the bombing of Nordhausen by the Allies. Shortly thereafter, they were forced onto freight trains. Between the prisoners of war and the Eastern European workers, the Jewish prisoners of were exposed to brutal discrimination. The train finally reached Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp on the eighth day. Leo lost consciousness after a beating and does not remember the liberation of the camp.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAfter a serious illness, Leo went on a futile search for his relatives, eventually learning of the circumstances of their deaths. He joined a Zionist organization, but his attempt to enter Palestine failed. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1950 he finally emigrated to the USA. In New York he met his wife, with whom he settled in New Haven, Connecticut. He founded a construction company for single family homes. He has three children, of whom a son and a daughter have emigrated to Israel. He has 22 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Leo G. finds it impossible today to talk to his children about his experiences and feels both threatened by their interest and placed in a state of helplessness.\u003c/p\u003e (Abstract)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["https://archiv.zwangsarbeit-archiv.de/en/interviews/za579"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2005-12-17 (Creation)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["G., Leo, 1923-03-17 (Interviewee)","Laub, Dori, 1937-06-08 - 2018-06-23 (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Format"]},"value":{"en":["4 videotapes"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source"]},"value":{"en":["https://archiv.zwangsarbeit-archiv.de/en/interviews/za579"]}},{"label":{"en":["Subject"]},"value":{"en":["Forced labor (topical)","video tapes (topical)","Oral histories (document genres) (genre_form)","Sosnowiec Transit Camp (Person or Corporate Body)","Bunzlau Forced Labor Camp for Jews (Person or Corporate Body)","Ottmuth Forced Labor Camp for Jews (Person or Corporate Body)","Mittelbau Concentration Camp (Person or Corporate Body)","Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp (Person or Corporate Body)","Bergen-Belsen DP Camp (Person or Corporate Body)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["New Haven, Conn. (Place of Recording)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English (primary)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Relation"]},"value":{"en":["Leo G. Interview za579. Interview Archive „Forced Labor 1939-1945“. Access at https://archiv.zwangsarbeit-archiv.de/en/interviews/za579 (conforms to)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Identifier"]},"value":{"en":["za579 (Source Identifier)"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eLeo G. was born on March 17th, 1923 in Bendzin (Będzin), Poland. The city's population was around 90% Jewish. Leo's family was very poor.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHis father was a pious man, educated in matters of religion and Judaism, but not always in a position to provide for the material welfare of his family. He seems to have worked in various positions as a tutor and private teacher. Leo was the fifth child of the family, the youngest of three sons. He had four sisters and in all there were seven children. Leo is the only survivor of the Holocaust in his immediate family.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHe had many friends in the large tenement house, where his family lived in an attic apartment with two unheated rooms. The boys played football together and carried out playful feuds with other cliques from neighboring streets. Leo had already started at seven years of age to earn money as a coal carrier and errand boy. Initially he worked in addition to his school duties, but the need to earn money and help support his family became increasingly important. He attended public school and later a Jewish school. His school days ended with the fifth grade, which coincided with the move of the family to Sosnowiec (Sosnowitz) in 1933. His father tried repeatedly to finance Leo's religious education, but the family appears to have not been able to afford his continued education. Leo found a job with a carpenter and entered into an apprenticeship and he also commuted by train to Bendzin, where he worked in a bicycle saddle factory. His employer seemed to be very happy with his work, because he bought him monthly tickets for the train. The detailed descriptions of work processes that run through Leo's testimony bear witness to his quick grasp of manufacturing processes and to his skill in dealing with different materials and machines.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe German occupation in September 1939 proceeded with great brutality against the civilian population: men were driven from their homes, hunted at a run through the streets, and locked up crammed into tight spaces in the basement of the town hall. There were executions. This was followed by anti-Jewish decrees, the expropriation of Jewish businesses and the formation of a Jewish Council, which among other things, was responsible for recruiting Jewish forced laborers.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLeo was picked up one day on the street, and from then on he had to work for the Germans. For a time, he was still working as a carpenter, because the company where he had his apprenticeship had taken contracts from the German occupiers. At this point in time, he was already detained in a transit camp (Durchgangslager, DuLag), from where he was eventually shipped to K\u0026ouml;nigsh\u0026uuml;tte (now Chorz\u0026oacute;w, Poland) to work in a fertilizer factory. In early 1942 he was sent on to Ottmuth (now Otmęt, Poland), where he was performed forced labor building a highway. The working conditions were terrible. The brutality of the guards and overseers were apparently intended to compensate for the lack of proper work equipment.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn the early summer of 1942, Leo volunteered for a commando, as carpenters were being sought after. Thus he escaped the deadly work in road construction and was sent to Bunzlau (now Bolesławiec, Poland). There he worked for the Hubert Frank Timber Construction Company, which produced the finished parts for barracks. He was instructed by German carpenters and eventually worked in the machine shop, first as an assistant and then as a machine operator. In the Bunzlau Forced Labor Camp the torment for Leo was not the work, but the living conditions. The brutality of the Kapos was terrible and the prisoners were hunted and on the run from morning to night. Beatings were part of the everyday routine and the flogging of prisoners was a common punishment.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOn February 2nd, 1945 the camp was evacuated and sent on a six-week march. The prisoners slept in barns at night and the hunger was unbearable. They finally reached Mittelbau-Dora Concentration Camp near Nordhausen. There the prisoners from the earthworks came under fire during an air raid and witnessed the bombing of Nordhausen by the Allies. Shortly thereafter, they were forced onto freight trains. Between the prisoners of war and the Eastern European workers, the Jewish prisoners of were exposed to brutal discrimination. The train finally reached Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp on the eighth day. Leo lost consciousness after a beating and does not remember the liberation of the camp.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAfter a serious illness, Leo went on a futile search for his relatives, eventually learning of the circumstances of their deaths. He joined a Zionist organization, but his attempt to enter Palestine failed. \u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eIn 1950 he finally emigrated to the USA. In New York he met his wife, with whom he settled in New Haven, Connecticut. He founded a construction company for single family homes. He has three children, of whom a son and a daughter have emigrated to Israel. He has 22 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Leo G. finds it impossible today to talk to his children about his experiences and feels both threatened by their interest and placed in a state of helplessness.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"provider":[{"id":"https://fortunoff.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://fortunoff.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/005/original/Fortunoff-Logo.png?1549333634","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/208/003/small/ZA579_04_01_sd720p.mp4_1694868133.jpg?1694868135","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://fortunoff.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2227/collection_resources/107105/file/208003","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 4 - 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