Title: Jonas Guttman Oral History Interview
Inclusive Dates: 1994-1995

Creator:

• Guttman, Jonas

Call Number: Audio 1433A; SC 2944

Quantity: 6 tape recordings and 0.1 cubic feet (1 folder)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Oral history interview with Jonas Guttman describing his experiences as a Polish Jew before and during the German occupation of Poland consisting of recordings with partial transcripts. Guttman describes his life as a Jew in Radom, Poland with detailed accounts of the relationship between the Jewish community and the Polish community, the family business, and religious observance and education before World War II. Also documented are his personal recollections of his experiences in the ghetto, in the work camps, and in Germany immediately after World War II. Although most cassettes have corresponding transcripts, some cassettes have no transcripts and some transcripts do not correspond to the existing tapes.

Note:

Forms part of the Wisconsin Jewish Archives.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-audi01433a

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Acquisition Information

Presented by Arthur J. Hartz, Iowa City, Iowa, 2006. Accession Number: M2006-130

SC 2944	Transcripts Scope and Content Note: Personal recollections of the years in Germany immediately following WWII (Jonas Guttman spent a year in the hospital after his liberation); meeting his wife and deciding to emigrate to America, 1994 January 16 [corresponds to Audio 1433A/1] The Jewish Community in Radom, Poland before the war; the organization of the community regarding the economic difficulties in supporting the synagogue, 1994 May 1 [corresponds to Audio 1433A/2] Relationship with German workers and the various factory jobs that he had, 1994 May 1 [corresponds to Audio 1433A/3] Memories of the Jewish ghetto in Radom, Poland during WWII, including the Jewish organization within the community prior to the Nazi invasion, and the part that Jews played in the infrastructure of the ghettos, 1994 June 30 [corresponds to Audio 1433A/4] Place of religious education both before and during the German occupation of Poland, noting a decline in religious observance due to the restrictions of the German occupation; a brief history of Radom, focusing on the Jewish population, undated [no matching tape] The Judenrat and their living situation during the occupation in comparison to the average Jew and how the other Jews treated the former Judenrat after the war; briefly addresses the topic of the Jewish police; begins to describe the trip to the concentration camps and the conditions there, undated [transcription breaks off, no matching tape] Conditions in the work camps; Guttman's thoughts regarding Schindler, in response to the movie Schindler's List; records his feelings while in the camps and the feelings that others in the camp described to him, undated [partial transcription, no matching tape]
	Recorded interviews
Audio   1433A1	“Before Leaving Germany,” 1994 January 16
Audio   1433A2	Politics, Economics, and Religion before occupation, 1994 May 1 Note: No transcript
Audio   1433A2 (continued)	“The Jewish Community,” 1994 May 1
Audio   1433A3	“Relations with Germans,” 1994 May 1
Audio   1433A4	“Ghetto,” 1994 June 30
Audio   1433A4 (continued)	“Religion: Pre and During the War”
Audio   1433A4 (continued)	“Discussion of Money from the Judenrat”
Audio   1433A4 (continued)	Conditions in the Work Camp
Audio   1433A5	Secular Education in Poland and Life as a Displaced Person After the War, 1995 March 12 Note: No transcript
Audio   1433A6	Family, Education in the Synagogue, and Business in Poland, 1994 May 23 Note: No transcript