William and Jean Helmar papers

Identifier
irn516498
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 1996.30
Dates
1 Jan 1940 - 31 Dec 1945
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • German
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

folder

1

Creator(s)

Biographical History

William Helmar was born Wilhelmus van Hummel on June 30, 1920, in Arnhem, Netherlands. In Jan. 1940 he was drafted into the Dutch Army. In 1942, after stealing travel passes from his place of assignment, a Nazi supply office, he attempted to escape to Lisbon, Portugal, by train. He was caught, taken by the Nazis to the Gestapo headquarters in St. Jean du Luz, France, and imprisoned as a political prisoner for three months in Bordeaux, France. Then he was transferred to Compiègne concentration camp, Buchenwald concentration camp, Nordhausen concentration camp, Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and Neuengamme concentration camp. He was forced on a ship, the "Cape Arcona," which was bombed by the Canadian Air Force. He survived on a lifeboat and reached land at Kiel, Germany, where he was met by the Canadian Army. He spent two weeks recovering in Hamburg, Germany, and then was sent by the British Army to Brussels, Belgium. After World War II, William Helmar returned to his hometown of Arnhem where a cousin told him that his parents were alive and living in Ede, Netherlands.

Archival History

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Acquisition

The papers were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by William and Jean Helmar in 1996.

Scope and Content

The papers consist of four postcards and letters with envelopes written and sent by William Helmar from Buchenwald and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps to his parents in the Netherlands. Also included is a note with instructions to concentration camp inmates' friends and families about sending packages to prisoners.

People

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.