Overview
- Interview Summary
- Helga Epstein (née Dreifuss), born August 30, 1924 in Cologne, Germany, describes her family; the rise of Hitler in the 1920s and 1930s in Germany; the restrictions placed on Jews in the 1930s; not being allowed to attend school after 1938; Jews being barred from many public places; the importance of the synagogue for their social lives; her father selling his store and moving the family to a suburb; her brother’s bat mitzvah; her memories of Kristallnacht in November 1938 and watching as her synagogue was burned; going with her family to England in June 1939; being in London when the war began; going to the United States in early 1940; attending Boston University; and visiting Cologne in 1985.
- Interviewee
- Ms. Helga Epstein
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- Extent
-
1 videocassette (VHS) : sound, color ; 1/2 in..
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Holocaust survivors--United States. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Germany--Personal narratives. Jews--Germany--Cologne. Jews--Persecutions--Germany. Jews--Segregation--Germany. Jews--Social life and customs. Kristallnacht, 1938. Synagogues--Destruction and pillage. World War, 1939-1945--Deportations from Germany. Women--Personal narratives.
- Geographic Name
- Cologne (Germany) Germany--Social conditions--1933-1945. London (England) United States--Emigration and immigration.
- Personal Name
- Epstein, Helga.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- Helga Epstein donated her oral testimony to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in July 1989.
- Special Collection
-
The Jeff and Toby Herr Oral History Archive
- Record last modified:
- 2023-11-16 08:10:37
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn520350
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