Speaking of Demopolis History...

[pipster]

Hi, everyone. I've got a question for everybody, and I hope someone (or more than someone) can answer it for me.

This fall, I am starting work on my Honors Thesis in college, which is a (roughly) thirty-page research project on a topic of my choice. I settled on the Holocaust, in particular the topic of the concentration camps and the gas chambers.

Anyway, I just acquired an Honors mentor for this project, which is a professor in the chosen area of research, and he suggested I get started on this in earnest over the summer. He also suggested that I find a Holocaust survivor in the general area that I could possibly interview.

Now, I'm not hedging my bets on there being a survivor anywhere around here, but it's still worth an ask. Does anyone know of a survivor around here, or if not, does anyone know a survivor who is now deceased that may have left WWII-era diaries or anything like that (or maybe even told stories that you can repeat to me)?

Also, does anyone know of someone I can get in contact with who can get me more information on people who are in the possession of World War II-era documents (diaries, journals, newspapers, magazines, etc.) or anything that I may find useful for my research project that I could have a look at?

Your help would be greatly appreciated. As you can see, this will be a HUGE research project and I can use all the help I can get ^_^



P.S. Just a little aside I just thought of. In regards to newspapers and the like, another kind of newspaper article or whatever I would definitely find useful would be ones that have articles about the Nuremberg Trials and the testimonies given there. Those would be post-war newspapers, from about 1945-1950.

[AngelWing]

You might want to check with Mr Bert Rosenbush. I don't believe he's a holocaust survivor but he is Jewish and has done a lot of research into the Holocaust. I helped him one year set up a display at the library for it. As far as I know he is the only Jewish person in Demopolis.

[oldapier]

If Bert Rosenbush cannot help you, contact Jack Koch at jlkoch2@knology.net. He is from Demopolis, but now lives near Montgomery. He may know someone there.

[demopolite]

Try getting in contact with the National Holocaust Museum in Washington. I believe that they have a complete database of survivors. Unfortunately, due to the great time period that has elapsed since the Holocaust, you may not be able to speak to people who experienced it as adults.

Also, if you are checking with the Holocaust Museum, ask about access to their video database; they have thousands of hours of taped interviews with Holocaust survivors.

EDIT: Try this: http://www.ushmm.org/remembrance/registry/

[teach11]

On the literary side, you should explore the writings of Elie Wiesel, who has published his memoirs in a novel called Night.