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Helen R. Holocaust testimony (HVT-131) interviewed by Lynn Neuman and Sergio Rothstein,

Oral History | Fortunoff Collection ID: HVT-131

Videotape testimony of Helen R., who was born in Radom, Poland, circa 1923 and lived in Zwoleń , a nearby shtetl. She describes her prewar family life; antisemitism among her classmates; and her family's move to Radom in the wake of the German occupation. She tells of their flight to Zwoleń after the formation of the Radom ghetto in 1942; life in the Radom ghetto, to which Mrs. R. returned with her sister and two brothers; and her deportation to Majdanek at the end of 1942. She recounts her transfer to Płaszów, where she remained until fall 1944, when she was taken to Auschwitz, and her less than total "liberation" from Bergen-Belsen. Mrs. R. discusses her postwar reunion with her sister in Bergen-Belsen; her unsuccessful search for surviving relatives in Poland; and her move to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, where she met and married her husband. She also reflects on coming to terms with the guilt she initially felt for having survived; her positive childhood experiences; and the sense of continuity embodied in her relationship with her oldest daughter.

Author/Creator
R., Helen, ca. 1923-
Published
New York, N.Y. : Holocaust Survivors Film Project, 1981
Interview Date
July 31, 1981.
Locale
Poland
Radom (Województwo Mazowieckie)
Zwoleń (Radom, Poland)
Radom (Województwo Mazowieckie, Poland)
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany)
Language
English
Copies
3 copies: 3/4 in. master; 3/4 in. dub; and 1/2 in. VHS with time coding.
Cite As
Helen R. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-131). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.