This collection consists of 154 interviews conducted from 1992 to 1995 with residents of Orange County, California, who experienced the Holocaust. The interviews are the result of a project coordinated by Jack Pariser under the sponsorship of the Orange County Chapter of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. Most interviewees are Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. Their experiences during the World War II era include forced and voluntary emigration, death camps, forced labor, and hiding. Almost all of the Jewish participants are Ashkenazi Jews; that is, of Yiddish-speaking, Eastern European origins. The other participants include five members of the U.S. Army who saw the camps at the end of the war and three "rescuers" (individuals who aided Jews in their efforts to escape the Nazis).

In the early 1990s, Jack Pariser, a Polish survivor of the Holocaust who resides in Orange County, California, initiated a project to conduct oral history interviews with residents of Orange County who experienced the Holocaust. He received the organizational support of the Orange County chapter of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith (ADL) for the project. The ADL identified participants from the community, obtained and trained interviewers, conducted preliminary interviews with participants by phone, and solicited donations to help support the project. The ADL also supervised the videotaped interviews, which took place between April 1992 and April 1995, using recording services provided by Chapman University. The ADL wanted the tapes to be housed in an Orange County research facility and subsequently donated them to the UCI Libraries at the University of California, Irvine.

27.2 Linear Feet (33 boxes) and 0.5 unprocessed linear feer

Property rights reside with the University of California, while the ADL retains all copyright to materials in the collection. All researchers must, prior to using the collection, sign a statement that they understand this and promise not to reproduce, translate, abbreviate, or abridge any of the videotaped material without prior written consent from the ADL. Written quotation of excerpts from the interviews in a class paper or unpublished thesis does not require permission. For permissions to reproduce tapes or publish any portion of an interview, contact both the Head of Special Collections and University Archives and the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith (823 United Nations Plaza, New York, New York 10017).

The collection has not been processed. It may contain restricted materials. Please contact the Department of Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access.