Interview with William Drucker,

Interview Summary

William Drucker describes his escape from his hometown of Vienna, Austria soon after the German invasion of the country in 1938. After living for a time in a temporary refugee camp in Switzerland, he explains, he moved to a Jewish colony in the Dominican Republic, where he met the woman who soon after became his wife. He describes life in this colony, making clear that the Dominicans were friendly to the Jews, but that later he and his wife moved to the United States in order to raise their children in a better environment, although after the move to New York City, he explains, he found the urban environment not to be ideal for his children.

Drucker returns to his time in the refugee camp in Switzerland, describing day-to-day life there, relations with the Swiss, the rising tension with German troops just across the border, and his correspondence with his family at this time. He describes his trip from there to Portugal, and he provides more details on the refugee colony in Sos?a, Dominican Republic.

Interview Keyword

Dominican Republic--History--1930- Emigration and immigration Holocaust survivors. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Jewish refugees. Sos?a (Dominican Republic) Switzerland during the World Wars Vienna (Austria) World War Two World War, 1939-1945--Jews.

Interview LC Subject

World War, 1939-1945.

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.