Oral history interview with Helene Barricks

Oral History | Not Digitized | Accession Number: 2019.125.23 | RG Number: RG-90.057.0023

Overview

Interview Summary: Helene Barricks, born on April 14, 1917 in Des Moines, Iowa, discusses her early childhood in Emmetsburg, Iowa, where her family was the only Jewish family; her family's background; her family's holiday celebrations; observing the Sabbath every Friday; going to dinners every Sunday evening at the houses of Jewish families in neighboring towns; the local nuns and priests studying Torah with her grandparents every Thursday night; her grandmother helping to teach English to new Jewish community members; her mother, who was one of the first Jewish school teachers in Iowa; her memories of the Klu Klux Klan riding through town; being 11 years old when her family moved to Des Moines; attending high school and Drake University; being actively involved in the temple throughout her life; being the president of the Women's Zionists Organization of America; getting married during WWII; her husband's participation in the war; and helping with the relief efforts for European refugees after the war.
Interviewee: Helene Barricks
Date: interview: 1991 April 30
Credit Line: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Iowa Jewish Historical Society

Physical Details

Language: English
Extent: 2 sound cassettes.

Rights & Restrictions

Conditions on Access: No restrictions on access
Conditions on Use: No restrictions on use

Keywords & Subjects

Topical Term: Jewish families--United States. Jewish learning and scholarship. Jewish refugees--Europe, Eastern. Jewish refugees--Iowa--Des Moines. Jews--Education. Jews--Iowa--Des Moines. Jews--Iowa--Emmetsburg. Sabbath. Talmud Torah (Judaism) Women--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Jews--United States. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American. World War, 1939-1945--War work. World War, 1939-1945--Women--United States.
Geographic Name: Des Moines (Iowa) Emmetsburg (Iowa) United States.
Personal Name: Barricks, Helene.
Corporate Name: Ku Klux Klan (1915- )

Administrative Notes

Legal Status: Permanent Collection
Provenance: The Iowa Jewish Historical Society donated audio and video recordings from the IJHS archive to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in March 2019.
Special Collection: The Jeff and Toby Herr Oral History Archive

Record last modified:: 2022-07-28 17:49:59
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn693436

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Transcript (English)

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