Testimony of Hiyyat Simha (Guez) Gilbert, born in 1924 in Sfax, Tunisia, about her experiences in Sfax and the vicinity

Testimony of Hiyyat Simha (Guez) Gilbert, born in 1924 in Sfax, Tunisia, about her experiences in Sfax and the vicinity Childhood in a secular family in Sfax; father: accountant for a soap enterprise; family lives on the factory grounds out of town as the only Jewish family; good relations with Italian and Arab neighbors; witness attends a French elementary and high school; father dies in 1936; family subsists in privation from mother's work at the factory; war begins; life under Vichy rule; privation; German occupation ensues in November 1942; family evicted from home so an anti-aircraft position can be set up nearby; rents a room in an Arab house; several Jewish families share the home; evicted from home by German soldiers in order to host General Rommel; family moves three times within a brief period, including an olive-oil factory out of town; bombardments; liberated by American forces in April 1943; family returns to its home; food assistance by American soldiers; witness immigrates to Israel with two children in 1955.