Nathan Moncharsh oral history interview OHP.3027

Finding aid prepared by Debbie Kahn
Tauber Holocaust Library
JFCS Holocaust Center
2245 Post Street
San Francisco, CA, 94115
415-449-3717
tauberholocaustlibrary@jfcs.org


Title: Nathan Moncharsh oral history interviews
Identifier/Call Number: OHP.3027
Contributing Institution: Tauber Holocaust Library
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 0.6 Linear feet comprising one sound disc, five videotapes with a total running time of 10:11, and one transcript of 72 pages
Date: 1991 April 25
Abstract: This collection comprises five oral history interviews with Nathan Moncharsh. The first interview comprises one sound disc and was conducted by the Holocaust Oral History Project on February 21, 1988; the second interview comprises one videotape and was conducted by the Holocaust Oral History Project on March 21, 1991; the third interview comprises one videotape with accompanying transcript and was conducted by the Holocaust Oral History Project on April 25, 1991; the fourth interview comprises two videotapes and was conducted by the Holocaust Oral History Project on May 14, 1991; the fifth interview comprises one videotape and was conducted by the Holocaust Oral History Project on July 11, 1991.
Creator: Moncharsh, Nathan
Creator: Ayres, Gene
Creator: Grant, John
Creator: Prozan, Sylvia
Creator: Rotenberg, Irene
Creator: Thompson, Karen

Scope and Contents note

This collection comprises five oral history interviews with Nathan Moncharsh. The first interview comprises one sound disc and was conducted by Irene Rotenberg on behalf of the Holocaust Oral History Project on February 21, 1988; the second interview comprises one videotape and was conducted by Gene Ayres and Sylvia Prozan on behalf of the Holocaust Oral History Project on March 21, 1991; the third interview comprises one videotape with accompanying transcript and was conducted by Gene Ayres and Sylvia Prozan on behalf of the Holocaust Oral History Project on April 25, 1991; the fourth interview comprises two videotapes and was conducted by Gene Ayres and Sylvia Prozan on behalf of the Holocaust Oral History Project on May 14, 1991; the fifth interview comprises one videotape and was conducted by Gene Ayres and Sylvia Prozan on behalf of the Holocaust Oral History Project on July 11, 1991. Nathan Moncharsh is a Holocaust survivor.
The interviews describe Mr. Moncharsh's childhood in Chmielnik and Lodz, Poland; his experiences in Lodz ghetto beginning in December 1939; and the ways he and his family survived there. He describes many of the deportations, including liquidation of hospitals; the work he performed as a bricklayer building factories; the rations; observations of Chaim Rumkowski; and the continual influx of Jews from the west beginning in 1940. He discusses the deaths of family members from illness and starvation, his deportation on the final train from Lodz to Auschwitz in September 1944, and the transportation in cattle cars. He describes his experiences in Auschwitz, from the initial selection performed by Josef Mengele to the work he performed as a bricklayer as well as his responsibility for the soup pots. Mr. Moncharsh describes the changes in the camp that began in November 1944, the bombings, and the death march to Flossenburg in February 1945. He describes a subsequent death march to Dachau, liberation by the Americans in April 1945, and his health problems and malnourishment after liberation. He discusses his emigration to the United States in 1949 and his life in San Francisco after the war.

Conditions Governing Access note

There are no restrictions to access for this collection.

Conditions Governing Use note

There are no restrictions to use for this collection.

Existence and Location of Copies note

Master copies of the oral history interviews are located at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.

Preferred Citation note

Nathan Moncharsh oral history interviews - OHP.3027, Tauber Holocaust Library, JFCS Holocaust Center, San Francisco, California

Related Archival Materials note

Nathan Moncharsh is the spouse of Rachel Moncharsh, also interviewed. See Nathan Moncharsh oral history interview - OHP.3027.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Auschwitz (Concentration camp).
Dachau (Concentration camp).
Flossenburg (Concentration camp).
Mengele , Josef, 1911-1979
Rumkowski, Mordechai Hayim
Death marches -- Europe
Holocaust survivors -- United States
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Personal narratives
Jewish ghettos -- Lodz
Lodz (Poland)
United States -- Emigration and immigration
World War, 1939-1945 -- Concentration camps -- Liberation
World War, 1939-1945 -- Deportations from Poland