Skip to main content

Helena S. Holocaust testimony (HVT-4221) interviewed by Ingrid Antalová and René Lužica,

Oral History | Digitized | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-4221

Overview

Summary: Videotape testimony of Helena S., a Catholic Romani, who was born in Snina, Czechoslovakia (presently Slovakia) in 1923. She recalls her family's poverty, working for a Jewish woman from age nine to seventeen; deportation of the Jews, including her employer who gave her extra food; marriage; moving to another village; deportation by Germans to Humenné, then to Dubnica in the summer; separation from the men; their assignment to forced labor; the women being confined to barracks; starvation; escaping with others during the winter; a one-month walk back to Snina; kind people assisting them en route with food and lodgings; finding their homes destroyed; the births of six children; and her husband's death at a young age. Ms. S. discusses visiting Dubnica after the war, and not receiving equal compensation for her time in the concentration camp compared to that of former prisoners in the Czech Republic.
Author/Creator: S., Helena, 1923-
Published: Bratislava, Slovakia : Milan Šimečka Foundation, 1998
Interview Date: November 7, 1998.
Locale: Slovakia
Czechoslovakia
Snina (Slovakia)
Humenné (Slovakia)
Cite As: Helena S. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-4221). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
Other Authors/Editors: Antalová, Ingrid, interviewer.
Lužica, René, interviewer.
Notes: This testimony is in Slovak.

Physical Details

Language: Slovak
Copies: 3 copies: 1/2 in. VHS master; Betacam SP submaster; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Physical Description: 1 videorecording (55 min.) : col

Keywords & Subjects

Subjects (Local Yale): Aid by non-Romanies.
Postwar experiences.
Subjects: Video tapes. Women. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Slovak. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Romani. Romanies--Nazi persecution--Slovakia. Romanies--Slovakia--History--20th century. Concentration camp inmates. Escapes. Czechoslovakia. Snina (Slovakia) Humenné (Slovakia) Oral histories (document genres) S., Helena,--1923-

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/5205238
Record last modified:: 2018-05-30 11:51:00
This page:: http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/hvt5205238

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