Tova Friedman | Extended Interview | THE THREAD Documentary Series
Interview Archive
10,539 views
The extended interview with Tova Friedman from The Thread docuseries is now available! Tova Friedman, a social worker, therapist, and academic, is among the youngest and last living Holocaust survivors. In this profound interview, Tova shares her harrowing and powerful experiences of survivorship, from enduring the atrocities of the Holocaust to rebuilding her life thereafter. She recalls the heart-wrenching events of her childhood in the ghettos of Poland, her survival in Auschwitz, and her family’s eventual emigration to the United States. Tova also discusses the importance of telling her life story, speaking out against anti-Semitism, and her ongoing Holocaust education efforts through platforms like TikTok. This impactful conversation highlights the necessity of preserving history to foster resilience and remembrance for future generations.
Tova Friedman was born on September 7, 1938 in Gdynia, Poland, a suburb of Danzig. Her family came from Tomaszów Mazowiecki, a small town near Lodz, Poland, and returned there as soon as the war broke out. Friedman is among the youngest possible to survive the Nazi Holocaust, and one of the few Jewish children to have lived through the nightmare ordeals of Auschwitz, She was one of 5,000 Jewish children living in Tomaszow Mazowiecki before World War II, and at the end of the war, one of only five children from that town that survived. More than 150 members of Friedman’s family were murdered. After spending several years in a German sanatorium for tuberculosis and DP camps, Friedman and her parents arrived in the US when she was 12 years old. They lived in Brooklyn where she met and married her husband of 60 years, Maier Friedman (recently deceased). She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Brooklyn Coller and a Master of Arts in Black literature from City College of New York. Together they immigrated to Israel and lived there for over 10 years where she taught at the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. After returning to the US, she earned her Master of Arts in social work from Rutgers University and became the Director of Jewish Family Service of Somerset and Warren Counties for over 20 years. Friedman has 4 children and 8 grandchildren. Friedman continues to share her story with students and audiences at schools, colleges, and places of worship all over the country.
Subscribe for access to never-before-seen conversations from society’s most inspirational figures, giving insight into the lives and events that shaped our culture and history. Learn more about our work and how to support our mission here: https://www.lifestories.org/. For the latest interviews, series, and films from Life Stories, visit our other channel: @lifestoriesdotorg. To teach using this episode go to: https://www.lifestories.org/learning/...
Follow us on Instagram: Instagram: lifestoriesinterviews
Chapter Markers:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:11 - Tova's birthplace and early memories
00:00:48 - Moving to the ghettos and family tragedies
00:02:53 - Transportation to and life in the labor camp
00:04:57 - Memories of being taken to Auschwitz
00:05:05 - Finding her mother in Auschwitz
00:12:43 - Liberation by Russian soldiers
00:13:38 - Speaking about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism
00:16:02 - Responding to Holocaust denial
00:17:20 - Mission and attitude towards life
00:18:43 - Family life before the Holocaust
00:21:43 - Entering Auschwitz and the labor camps
00:29:12 - Lessons from parents on survival
00:33:07 - Vulnerability of children during the Holocaust
00:36:25 - Getting and keeping her tattoo
00:40:58 - Relationships with other children in the camps
00:43:31 - Daily life and living conditions
00:48:42 - Overwhelming starvation and its impact
00:52:13 - Defiance and resilience
00:55:06 - Treatment by Nazi soldiers
00:57:16 - Small acts of kindness
00:58:21 - Survival and facing the inevitability of death
01:07:07 - Reuniting with father and life after liberation
01:09:36 - Decision to move to the US and adjusting to new life
01:11:31 - Studying psychology and black literature
01:13:11 - Undergoing therapy and learning about herself
01:15:31 - Survivor’s obligation and legacy
01:17:24 - Mother’s death and family continuity
01:18:27 - Falling in love and building a family
01:22:47 - Telling her children and grandchildren her story
01:23:49 - Creating a TikTok account with her grandson
01:25:19 - Significance of storytelling and preserving memory
01:28:50 - Forming community with other survivors
01:30:44 - Manifestation of anti-Semitism in modern times
01:32:07 - Importance of family and Jewish continuity
Tova Friedman, Holocaust Survivor
Interviewed By: Noah Remnick
Interview Date: July 26, 2023
©️ Kunhardt Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
#TovaFriedman #kunhardtfilmfoundation
16 Comments
Tova Friedman | Extended Interview | THE THREAD Documentary Series
Interview Archive
10,539 views
The extended interview with Tova Friedman from The Thread docuseries is now available! Tova Friedman, a social worker, therapist, and academic, is among the youngest and last living Holocaust survivors. In this profound interview, Tova shares her harrowing and powerful experiences of survivorship, from enduring the atrocities of the Holocaust to rebuilding her life thereafter. She recalls the heart-wrenching events of her childhood in the ghettos of Poland, her survival in Auschwitz, and her family’s eventual emigration to the United States. Tova also discusses the importance of telling her life story, speaking out against anti-Semitism, and her ongoing Holocaust education efforts through platforms like TikTok. This impactful conversation highlights the necessity of preserving history to foster resilience and remembrance for future generations.
Tova Friedman was born on September 7, 1938 in Gdynia, Poland, a suburb of Danzig. Her family came from Tomaszów Mazowiecki, a small town near Lodz, Poland, and returned there as soon as the war broke out. Friedman is among the youngest possible to survive the Nazi Holocaust, and one of the few Jewish children to have lived through the nightmare ordeals of Auschwitz, She was one of 5,000 Jewish children living in Tomaszow Mazowiecki before World War II, and at the end of the war, one of only five children from that town that survived. More than 150 members of Friedman’s family were murdered. After spending several years in a German sanatorium for tuberculosis and DP camps, Friedman and her parents arrived in the US when she was 12 years old. They lived in Brooklyn where she met and married her husband of 60 years, Maier Friedman (recently deceased). She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Brooklyn Coller and a Master of Arts in Black literature from City College of New York. Together they immigrated to Israel and lived there for over 10 years where she taught at the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. After returning to the US, she earned her Master of Arts in social work from Rutgers University and became the Director of Jewish Family Service of Somerset and Warren Counties for over 20 years. Friedman has 4 children and 8 grandchildren. Friedman continues to share her story with students and audiences at schools, colleges, and places of worship all over the country.
Subscribe for access to never-before-seen conversations from society’s most inspirational figures, giving insight into the lives and events that shaped our culture and history. Learn more about our work and how to support our mission here: https://www.lifestories.org/. For the latest interviews, series, and films from Life Stories, visit our other channel: @lifestoriesdotorg. To teach using this episode go to: https://www.lifestories.org/learning/...
Follow us on Instagram: Instagram: lifestoriesinterviews
Chapter Markers:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:11 - Tova's birthplace and early memories
00:00:48 - Moving to the ghettos and family tragedies
00:02:53 - Transportation to and life in the labor camp
00:04:57 - Memories of being taken to Auschwitz
00:05:05 - Finding her mother in Auschwitz
00:12:43 - Liberation by Russian soldiers
00:13:38 - Speaking about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism
00:16:02 - Responding to Holocaust denial
00:17:20 - Mission and attitude towards life
00:18:43 - Family life before the Holocaust
00:21:43 - Entering Auschwitz and the labor camps
00:29:12 - Lessons from parents on survival
00:33:07 - Vulnerability of children during the Holocaust
00:36:25 - Getting and keeping her tattoo
00:40:58 - Relationships with other children in the camps
00:43:31 - Daily life and living conditions
00:48:42 - Overwhelming starvation and its impact
00:52:13 - Defiance and resilience
00:55:06 - Treatment by Nazi soldiers
00:57:16 - Small acts of kindness
00:58:21 - Survival and facing the inevitability of death
01:07:07 - Reuniting with father and life after liberation
01:09:36 - Decision to move to the US and adjusting to new life
01:11:31 - Studying psychology and black literature
01:13:11 - Undergoing therapy and learning about herself
01:15:31 - Survivor’s obligation and legacy
01:17:24 - Mother’s death and family continuity
01:18:27 - Falling in love and building a family
01:22:47 - Telling her children and grandchildren her story
01:23:49 - Creating a TikTok account with her grandson
01:25:19 - Significance of storytelling and preserving memory
01:28:50 - Forming community with other survivors
01:30:44 - Manifestation of anti-Semitism in modern times
01:32:07 - Importance of family and Jewish continuity
Tova Friedman, Holocaust Survivor
Interviewed By: Noah Remnick
Interview Date: July 26, 2023
©️ Kunhardt Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
#TovaFriedman #kunhardtfilmfoundation
Seeing people who lost everything survive, rebuild their lives, have families and find purpose and happiness gives us hope that maybe we will manage too somehow.