Skip to main content

Helen N. Holocaust testimony (HVT-2568) interviewed by Joni-Sue Blinderman,

Oral History | Digitized | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-2568

Overview

Summary: Videotape testimony of Helen N., who was born in Rona de Sus, Romania in 1921, one of eleven children. She recalls her family's traditional religious life; working in Săpînța as a dressmaker; violent Hungarian soldiers; food shortages; declining an offer to be hidden by friends; ghettoization with her parents, one sister, and brother in Oradea; their deportation to Auschwitz; separation from her parents (she never saw them again); efforts to remain with her sister; her brother's instructions to eat non-kosher food in order to survive (she never saw him again); being beaten for having a needle and thread; sharing food with her sister; deterioration of health; transfer to a munitions factory; improvement in the food; liberation by United States troops; transfer to Bergen-Belsen refugee camp; searching for other sisters in Landsberg refugee camp; traveling with her future husband to Strasbourg and Paris; marriage in Belgium; and emigration to the United States in 1949.
Author/Creator: N., Helen, 1921-
Published: New York, N.Y. : A Living Memorial to the Holocaust-Museum of Jewish Heritage, 1993
Interview Date: June 2, 1993.
Locale: Romania
Oradea
Rona de Sus (Romania)
Săpînța (Romania)
Strasbourg (France)
Paris (France)
Cite As: Helen N. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-2568). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
Other Authors/Editors: Blinderman, Joni-Sue, interviewer.

Physical Details

Language: English
Copies: 2 copies: 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Physical Description: 1 videorecording (1 hr., 46 min.) : col

Keywords & Subjects

Subjects (Local Yale): Hungarian occupation.
Mutual aid.
Aid by non-Jews.
Postwar experiences.
Subjects: Holocaust survivors. Video tapes. Women. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Jewish. Sisters. Brothers and sisters. Forced labor. Jewish ghettos. Jews--Romania--Oradea. Romania. Rona de Sus (Romania) Săpînța (Romania) Strasbourg (France) Paris (France) Oral histories (document genres) N., Helen,--1921- Auschwitz (Concentration camp) Landsberg am Lech (Displaced persons camp) DP-Camp Bergen-Belsen.

Administrative Notes

Holder of Originals: Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies
Special Collection: Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies

Link to Yale University Library Catalog:: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/4288192
Record last modified:: 2018-06-04 13:26:00
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt4288192

Additional Resources

Librarian View

Download & Licensing

Terms of Use
This record is digitized but cannot be downloaded online.

In-Person Research

Request Access from Yale University Libraries

Requires Yale University Libraries Permission
Accessing Fortunoff interviews
Log in to Request and View
About the Fortunoff Archive

Once requests are approved, you must be at a Fortunoff Access Site to view the testimony.

Contact Us

Give Feedback

Learn About the Holocaust

These additional online resources from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum will help you learn more about the Holocaust and research your family history.

Holocaust Encyclopedia

The Holocaust Encyclopedia provides an overview of the Holocaust using text, photographs, maps, artifacts, and personal histories.
Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center

Research family history relating to the Holocaust and explore the Museum's collections about individual survivors and victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution.
Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos

Learn about over 1,000 camps and ghettos in Volumes I-III of this encyclopedia, which are available as a free PDF download. This reference provides text, photographs, charts, maps, and extensive indexes.

Further Your Research