1945 | Oral History

1945

OH 0849

Holocaust survivor. Her experiences during the Holocaust. Anti-Semitism in Memel, Lithuania, prior to Nazi occupation; early childhood life; move to Kaunas (Kovno), 1939; Russian occupation, 1939; German occupation, 1941; establishment of Kaunas Ghetto; Die Grosse Aktion (“The Great Roundup”); escape from the Kaunas Ghetto; life as a disguised farm laborer; liberation by Russian troops, 1945; reunion with her father in Italy, 1946; lasting effects of the Holocaust experience.

OH 0061

Contractor. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Capture in the Mindanao jungle; Davao Penal Colony, 1942-43; hell ship to Japan, 1943; Tokyo, 1943; Yokkaichi, Honshu, 1944-45, and American air raids; liberation

OH 0298

Schoolteacher. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Pre-war duty in China with 4th Marines; fall of Corregidor and capture; Bilibid Prison, Manila; Cabanatuan, 1942; hell ship to Japan, 1942; Osaka, 1942-45, and American air raids; liberation.

OH 1047

Attorney. His experiences with the 96th infantry Division at Okinawa, 1945; close action ground combat; his battle wound.

OH 1471

Advertising executive. His experiences as a teenager during World War II; his experiences as a sailor during the last months of World War II.

OH 0076

Businessman, Army veteran, survivor of the Bataan Death March. His experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. Fall of Bataan and capture; Bataan Death March; Camp O’Donnell, 1942; Cabanatuan, 1942-43; hell ship to Japan, 1943; Zentsuji, Shikoku, 1943; Rokuroshi, Honshu, 1945; liberation.

OH 1269

His experiences in the European Theater during World War II. Preliminary training in New Mexico, Texas, Oregon, and Kansas; troop convoy to England, 1944; preparations for the Normandy Invasion, 1944; entry into Normandy on D + 6; transfer to 9th Air Force; initiation to combat; bombing of Saint Lô, July 25, 1944; supplying U.S. fighters and fighter-bombers; rest and recreation in France; black market activities; Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45; Rhineland Campaign, 1945; Munich and the end of the war; postwar adjustment to civilian life.

OH 0929

His experiences as a dive-bomber pilot during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; his participation in the Aleutians Campaign, June 1942, and the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot,” May 1944; surrender of Rota Island, September 2, 1945.