The library catalogue's summary of his one hour and thirty-five minute testimony is as follows: “Videotape testimony of Max M., who was born in Skala-Podol'skaya [sic], in southeastern Poland, in 1926. He tells of a congenital hip problem which resulted in frequent hospitalization and surgery; the Russian occupation from 1939-1941; being caught near L'vov when the Germans invaded; and the difficulty of getting home to Skala with his mother. He describes the death of his brother in a POW camp, from which the Poles and Ukrainians had been released and only the Jews exterminated. He relates the formation of a ghetto; the Judenrat; deportation to Borshchov; hiding in bunkers during several round-ups; the death of his mother; a mass killing in which his father was killed; and his escape into the woods with a cousin, where he hid for fourteen months with other Jews from the area. Mr. M. discusses liberation by Russian troops; continuing hardship; living with no hope; and his eventual emigration to the United States. He describes the present as another and happy chapter in his life.”

The call number for the Mermelstein tape is HVT-309. For a full listing of Yale's partner sites, see web.library.yale.edu/testimonies/visit/partner-sites

The photo above was taken in Skala in 2010 by David Belgray. It shows Max's reunion with a women related to the family that helped save him during the Holocaust.