Collections Search - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (original) (raw)

Overview

Interview Summary

Susan Cernyak-Spatz describes her early years in Vienna, Austria and Prague, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic); her deportation to Terezin (Theresienstadt) in 1942 and her subsequent transfer to Auschwitz-Birkenau in January 1943; life at Auschwitz, including the work she performed in the offices and in the Canada commando; the hierarchy of prisoners; relationships among prisoners and guards, including lesbian relationships; the effects of dehumanization, particularly on the perpetrators; the help she received from her fellow prisoners as well as from guards; the cruelty she experienced; the evacuation and death march from Auschwitz to Ravensbrück in January 1945; her experiences at Ravensbrück; and her postwar experiences.

Interviewee

Susan E. Cernyak-Spatz

Interviewer

Sauni Wood

Physical Details

Language

English

Extent

3 videocassettes (VHS) : sound, color ; 1/2 in..

Rights & Restrictions

Conditions on Access

There are no known restrictions on access to this material.

Conditions on Use

No restrictions on use

Keywords & Subjects

Topical Term

[Antisemitism.](..?q=Antisemitism.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Death march survivors.](..?q=Death%20march%20survivors.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Death marches.](..?q=Death%20marches.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Forced labor.](..?q=Forced%20labor.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives.](..?q=Holocaust%2C%20Jewish%20%281939-1945%29--Personal%20narratives.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Jews--Austria--Vienna.](..?q=Jews--Austria--Vienna.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Jews--Persecutions--Europe.](..?q=Jews--Persecutions--Europe.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Lesbians.](..?q=Lesbians.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Prisoners--Abuse of.](..?q=Prisoners--Abuse%20of.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Women concentration camp guards.](..?q=Women%20concentration%20camp%20guards.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Women concentration camp inmates.](..?q=Women%20concentration%20camp%20inmates.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps.](..?q=World%20War%2C%201939-1945--Concentration%20camps.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor.](..?q=World%20War%2C%201939-1945--Conscript%20labor.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [World War, 1939-1945--Deportations from Czechoslovakia.](..?q=World%20War%2C%201939-1945--Deportations%20from%20Czechoslovakia.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Women--Personal narratives.](..?q=Women--Personal%20narratives.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords)

Geographic Name

[Czechoslovakia--History--1938-1945.](..?q=Czechoslovakia--History--1938-1945.&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Oświęcim (Poland)](..?q=Os%CC%81wie%CC%A8cim%20%28Poland%29&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Prague (Czech Republic)](..?q=Prague%20%28Czech%20Republic%29&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Terezín (Ústecký kraj, Czech Republic)](..?q=Terez%C3%ADn%20%28%C3%9Asteck%C3%BD%20kraj%2C%20Czech%20Republic%29&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Vienna (Austria)](..?q=Vienna%20%28Austria%29&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords)

Personal Name

[Cernyak-Spatz, Susan E., 1922-](..?q=Cernyak-Spatz%2C%20Susan%20E.%2C%201922-&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords)

Corporate Name

[Auschwitz (Concentration camp)](..?q=Auschwitz%20%28Concentration%20camp%29&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Birkenau (Concentration camp)](..?q=Birkenau%20%28Concentration%20camp%29&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Kanada I (Concentration camp)](..?q=Kanada%20I%20%28Concentration%20camp%29&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Ravensbrück (Concentration camp)](..?q=Ravensbr%C3%BCck%20%28Concentration%20camp%29&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords) [Theresienstadt (Concentration camp)](..?q=Theresienstadt%20%28Concentration%20camp%29&search%5Ffield=Subjects and Keywords)

Administrative Notes

Legal Status

Permanent Collection

Provenance

Susan Cernyak-Spatz donated the oral testimony to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in July 1994.

Special Collection

The Jeff and Toby Herr Oral History Archive

Record last modified:

2023-11-16 08:10:41

This page:

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