Helena Minzer letters
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Overview
- Description
- The Helena Minzer letters concern Helena Minzer, a Polish Jewish woman, and her experiences during the Holocaust. Forced to live in the Lwow ghetto, Helena Minzer escaped under a false name and went into hiding with the Szychlińska family in Mosty Wielkie before entering a forced labor camp. Her papers are comprised of 8 letters written by her to Janina Szychlińska while in the camp and immediately after liberation in 1945.
- Date
-
inclusive:
1943-1945
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Elżbieta Szychlińska
- Collection Creator
- Helena Minzer
- Biography
-
Helena Minzer was born in 1925 in Lwów, Poland (now L’viv, Ukraine). In 1941, Helena, a Jew, was forced to live in the Lwów ghetto. There she remained for two years, before escaping in 1943. Upon her escape, Helena acquired false papers under the name Jadwiga Jadzia Polubiak and went into hiding with Janina Szychlińska and her family in Mosty Wielkie (Now Velyki Mosty, Ukraine). After three months in hiding, Helena volunteered for forced labor in Germany in the Emden labor camp. She survived her ordeal and was liberated in May of 1945. From there, Helena traveled around Europe, eventually residing in the Hannover displaced persons camp in Germany. Helena married Julian Nawrocki, also of Lwów and settled in Haifa, Israel.
Physical Details
- Genre/Form
- Correspondence. Letters. Liberation.
- Extent
-
1 folder
- System of Arrangement
- The Helena Minzer letters are arranged as a single series.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Jewish ghettos--Ukraine--Lʹviv. Hiding places--Ukraine--Velyki Mosty. Escapes--Ukraine--Lʹviv. Holocaust survivors--Ukraine--Lʹviv. Forced labor--Germany. Refugees--Ukraine--Lʹviv.
- Geographic Name
- L’viv (Ukraine). Lwów (Poland : Voivodeship).
- Personal Name
- Minzer, Helena (1925-). Szychlińska, Janina.
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The Helena Minzer letters were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2011 by Elżbieta Szychlińska, a descendant of the family with whom Helena hid during World War II.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
The acquisition of this collection was made possible by the Crown Family.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-04-01 11:41:20
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn42088
Download & Licensing
In-Person Research
- Available for Research
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD
