Helena Piasecka collection

Identifier
irn518597
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2007.158
Dates
1 Jan 1936 - 31 Dec 1959
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • English
  • Polish
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

folder

1

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Helena Piasecka (1914-2006) was born Helena Karolewska on October 2, 1914 in Żuromin, Poland to Helena (née Baranski) and Jakub Karolewski. She had two sisters: Władysława Karolewska (later Władysława Łapińska), and Henryka Karolewska (later Henryka Szawarin). She was Roman Catholic, and married to Edward Piasecki. After Germany and Russia invaded Poland in September 1939, Helena and her husband were in Lublin, Poland with her sisters Władysława and Henryka, and were active in the anti-German resistance movement. On February 13, 1941 Helena and her husband, along with her sisters and brother-in-law, were arrested by the Gestapo. The sisters were detained in Lublin prison and interrogated and beaten. Henryka was eventually released, and Helena and Władysława were deported to Ravensbrück on September 23, 1941. Helena’s husband and brother-in-law were both deported to Auschwitz where they were murdered. Beginning on August 14, 1942 she and her sister were subjected to multiple medical experiments involving infectious wounds on her legs. They were part of a group of women sometimes referred to as “Ravensbrück Lapins,” so-called because they were experimented on. Helena and Władysława both survived Ravensbrück and later appeared as witnesses during the Doctors Trial at Nuremburg in 1946. Helena immigrated to the United States in 1949 and settled in Cleveland, Ohio.

Archival History

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Acquisition

The Helena Piasecka collection was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Maria Szonert and Bonnie Glance in 2006. Bonnie Glance is the grand-niece of Helena Piasecka.

Scope and Content

The collection contains photocopies of documents, photographs, and newspaper clippings related to Helena Piasecka, a Roman Catholic woman originally of Żuromin, Poland, who was imprisoned at Ravensbrück, and was a victim of medical experimentation.

System of Arrangement

The collection is arranged as a single folder.

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.