Helen R. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Helen R., who was born in Lwo?w, Poland (L'viv, Ukraine) in 1938. She recounts her father's death in 1939; her mother throwing her over a ghetto fence, then climbing over to escape in 1941; her mother acquiring false papers; witnessing her mother's interrogation when she worked as a cook for the German military; being hidden with a farmer; receiving food packages from her mother; being moved to a convent; reunion with her mother after liberation in early 1945; living in Tarno?w and Krako?w, then Frankfurt and Vienna; her mother's remarriage; emigrating to the United States in 1947 with help from HIAS; learning English; attending school and summer camps; courtships and marriage; the birth of two daughters; and divorce and remarriage. Mrs. R. discusses her coping skills and emotional distance resulting from her experiences; not knowing she was Jewish until her mother's remarriage; identifying herself as a Jew in spite of her ambivalence toward religions; her mother's contact with and financial support of the people who had hidden her; and regret that she could not learn more about their experiences prior to her mother's death. She shows many photographs and documents.

2 videocassettes