O.12 - Perlman Collection: Testimonies of refugees from Poland who arrived in Eretz Israel, 1942-1943

O.12- Perlman Collection: Testimonies of refugees from Poland who arrived in Eretz Israel, 1942-1943 
 The Perlman Collection consists of 64 testimonies gathered by Jewish Agency representatives during the years 1942-1943, mainly from Jews who arrived to Eretz Israel during World War II. 
 
 Most of the testimonies were given by Jews who held Mandatory Palestine citizenship, were married to Mandatory Palestine citizens or were related to them. These Jews were included in exchange agreements of foreign citizens for German citizens, and they succeeded in reaching Eretz Israel.
 
 Another group of witnesses was made up of children and young people who succeeded in escaping to Soviet occupied territory. They were attached to the Teheran Children, and made aliya to Eretz Israel via Iran together with them. Another group of witnesses were those Jews who succeeded in crossing the Hungarian border illegally and reaching Eretz Israel from there.
 
 Some of the testimonies were recorded in Budapest from witnesses who managed to cross the Hungarian border illegally.
 
 The testimonies describe the events in various ghettos in Poland from the onset of the German occupation until 1942-1943.
 
 One witness escaped from Treblinka and provided a detailed report regarding the extermination operations in the camp. Other witnesses told of deportations, liquidation of ghettos, deportation to camps, and extermination, based on rumors. 
 
 The testimonies submitted by the children, and the young people telling their own personal stories, reflect the fate of many of the children and Jewish youth during the Holocaust.