Testimony of Abraham Charnov
Testimonies to come
Id no. 1985.T.65, Testimony, English
Created by: Abraham Charnov
Subject(s): Camps, Encounter, Civilians, Armies-US, Jews-Allied Armies, Medicine, Inmates, Liberation, Mass graves, POWs-German
Audio testimony of Abraham Charnov, M.D., born in Brooklyn, New York in 1923. He recounts being drafted in 1943 as a First Lieutenant (combat intelligence and recon) into US Third Army, 65th Inf Div, 261st Reg, 1st Bn; landing at Le Havre, France 1/2/45; marching through Rouen; Saarlautern; breaching the Siegfried Line; moving through Germany, crossing the Rhine; moving into Austria. He describes liberating Mauthausen; the conditions there; his feelings upon seeing survivors, mass graves; witnessing digging of mass graves by Germans and German POWs; lasting impact of experience on his own psychology and understanding of own identity as a Jew. He shows photographs and a map of 65th Inf Div itinerary.
