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Testimony of Beila Beti Dornfest, born in Ulanow, Poland, 1923, regarding her experiences in Brens Sur Gaillac, Rivesaltes, in hiding in Beaulieu Sur Mer and in a convent in Avezan

Testimony
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Testimony of Beila Beti Dornfest, born in Ulanow, Poland, 1923, regarding her experiences in Brens Sur Gaillac, Rivesaltes, in hiding in Beaulieu Sur Mer and in a convent in Avezan Displays of antisemitism before the war; emigration to Antwerp, 1938. German occupation, May 1940; escape to Hauterive in southern France with her family; deportation to Brens Sur Gaillac with the rest of the Jewish refugees; camp life; transfer to Rivesaltes; fear of the French guards; typhus and dysentery; smuggled out of Rivesaltes with help from the underground; life in a house owned by the Scouts movement in Beaulieu Sur Mer; transfer to a resort town in the vicinity of Nice with help from the underground; transfer to a hiding place in a convent in Avezan; care given by Marie Bredoux, the Mother Superior at the convent, later recognized as Righteous Among the Nations; meets other Jewish women at the convent; help given to the witness' mother by the Mother Superior to maintain a religious way of life; problems related to keeping kosher; burial of prayer books during German searches at the convent; liberation, summer 1944. Aliya to Israel, 1951.
item Id
7057437
First Name
Beila
Bela
Beti
Last Name
Dornfest
Date of Birth
26/12/1923
Place of Birth
Ulanow, Poland
Type of material
Testimony
Language
Hebrew
Record Group
O.3 - Testimonies Department of the Yad Vashem Archives
Date of Creation - earliest
30/03/08
Date of Creation - latest
30/03/08
Name of Submitter
Dornfest Beila
Original
YES
Interview Location
ISRAEL
Connected to Item
O.3 - Testimonies gathered by Yad Vashem
Form of Testimony
Video
Dedication
Moshal Repository, Yad Vashem Archival Collection