Helen H. Waterford manuscripts
Extent and Medium
folders
5
Creator(s)
- Helen H. Waterford
Biographical History
Helen H. Waterford is a native of Offenbach, Germany, and a survivor of Auschwitz. Waterford and her first husband were hidden by non-Jews in Amsterdam, Netherlands, during most of the Nazi occupation but were discovered by the Gestapo and taken to Auschwitz where her husband died. She was later moved to Kratzau (a.k.a. Chrastava) concentration camp. After liberation, Waterford and her daughter emigrated to the United States. In 1979 she began lecturing to audiences about her experiences during the Holocaust. Waterford presently resides in Chula Vista, California.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
After the publication of "Commitment to Death: One Woman's Journey Towards Understanding" in 1987, the original manuscript and a revised first draft were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives by Renaissance House Publishers.
Scope and Content
Consists of the original manuscript of "Commitment to the Dead: One Woman's Journey Towards Understanding" (251 pages) and a revised first draft (139 pages) of the same by Helen H. Waterford. The manuscript is Helen Waterford's personal testimony of persecution and suffering during her imprisonment in Auschwitz and Kratzau (a.k.a. Chrastava). Inserted into the text are questions and comments for Waterford's many lectures. Both the original manuscript and first draft are marked heavily with notations by an editor.
System of Arrangement
Arrangement is thematic
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: Helen H. Waterford
People
- Waterford, Robert.
- Mengele, Josef, 1911-
- Frank, Anne, 1929-1945.
- Eichmann, Adolf, 1906-1962.
- Heck, Alfons, 1928-
- Wohlfarth, Siegfred.
- Waterford, Helen, 1909-1996.
Corporate Bodies
- Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei. Schutzstaffel
- Auschwitz (Concentration camp)
- Germany. Gestapo
- Kratzau I (Concentration camp)
Subjects
- Holocaust survivors.
- Amsterdam (Netherlands)
- Jews--Denmark.
- Concentration camps.
- Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust.
- Offenbach (Germany : Landkreis)
- Labor camps.
- Jews--Lithuania.
- Frankfurt am Main (Germany)
- Judaism--Relations--Christianity.
- Gas chambers.
- Jews--Germany.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Personal narratives.
- Jewish councils.
Genre
- Document
- Personal narratives.