Helen G. Holocaust testimony

Videotape testimony of Helen G., who was born in Belleville, France in 1924. She remembers moving to Metz; her brother's death, then her father's in 1935; another brother traveling to Romania (they never heard from him again); German invasion; fleeing to Paris, then Bordeaux, with her mother and one sister (her older sister remained with her husband and child); moving to Pleine-Selve; the German order to wear the yellow star; the mayor suggesting they not wear it so he could conceal their Jewish identities; her mother's arrest in summer 1943; hiding in the mayor's basement (he also hid their family valuables); the mayor obtaining false papers for them; working as a maid in Jonzac; corresponding with her sister; liberation by United States troops; the mayor returning their valuables; reunion with her sister; moving to Paris, then Metz; and their emigration to the United States in 1947. Mrs. G. recalls learning in 1980 that her mother had perished in Auschwitz; sharing her experiences with her children; taking care of a nephew who had survived in hiding; visits to France; and having the mayor recognized by Yad Vashem. She shows photographs.

2 videocassettes