Josef Helfgott papers

Identifier
irn715016
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2020.301.1
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • Yiddish
  • German
  • English
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

folders

9

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Josef Helfgott was born September 9, 1910 to Aron and Ruza Helfgott in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland. In January 1940, Josef Helfgott, a carpenter, his wife, Dwora (Rubin) Helfgott, and their daughter, Chana, were confined in the Ghetto in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland. Dwora and Chana were deported to Treblinka where they were murdered in 1942. Apparently, Josef remained in the ghetto somewhat longer, but had been deported to KL Blizin by May 1942. He was subsequently imprisoned at Auschwitz, Melk, and Ebensee, from which Josef was liberated in May 1945. He lived in Hannover from July 1945 until October 1950. Josef Helfgott sailed from Bremerhaven to New York and arrived in New York on November 25, 1950. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen on February 28, 1956. He died in 1986.

Archival History

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum collection, gift of Stephen H. Rogers

Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Stephen H. Rogers in 2020.

Scope and Content

Consists of photographs, restitution-related claims, a business card, newspaper clippings, and photocopies pertaining to the experiences of Josef Helfgott, a Holocaust survivor from Tomaszow Mazowiecki. Among other items, the collection includes a photograph of Josef's wife, Dwora, that he kept with him throughout his internment at various concentration camps, including Auscwhitz. Dwora, and the couple's daughter, Chana, were deported from Tomaszow to Treblinka in 1942 where they were killed. Other documents in the collection concern Josef's extended family as several siblings had immigrated to the United States in the interwar period and settled in New York.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

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.