- Summary
- Videotape testimony of Helen K., who was born in Warsaw in 1924. She discusses the outbreak of the war in Poland, including the bombing of Warsaw; the formation of the Warsaw ghetto; the disappearance of her father; conditions and spiritual resistance in the ghetto; her marriage; and the uprising and subsequent liquidation of the ghetto. Mrs. K. vividly recalls the journey by cattle car to Majdanek, during which her brother died in her arms; her reunion in Majdanek with her mother, who was taken during a selection a few weeks later; and the death of her sister-in-law in Majdanek. She tells of her transfer to Auschwitz, where she worked in an ammunition factory; mutual aid and spiritual resistance on the part of the prisoners; the destruction of a crematorium by some prisoners; and the public hanging of young girls from her factory who had secured the explosives. Postwar topics of discussion include Mrs. K's gradual physical recovery; her reunion with her husband; her life in the United States; her disbelief at what she witnessed during the war; and her children.
- Author/Creator
- K., Helen, 1924-2004.
- Published
- Hartford, Conn. : Holocaust Survivors Film Project, 1979
- Interview Date
- December 2, 1979.
- Locale
- Poland
Warsaw
Warsaw (Poland)
- Cite As
- Helen K. Holocaust Testimony (HVT-58). Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Laub, Dori, interviewer.
Vlock, Laurel, interviewer.
- Notes
-
Unpublished finding aid available in repository; 1/2 in. VHS is linked to finding aid by time coding.
Associated material: Judy K. Holocaust testimony [daughter] (HVT-562), Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University Library.