Helen Grosman Testimony
Object numberM2015/028:014
TitleHelen Grosman Testimony
DescriptionVideo testimony for Helen Grosman recorded in the year 2000.
Helen was Polish girl who was thirteen when the war broke out. She had been living a comfortable and happy life until that time. At the outbreak of war Helen’s family tried to escape from their village to Warsaw, not realizing how fast the German advance would be. They were caught on the way and had to return home. However when they arrived back they discovered that their house had been burned down and so went to live with her grandparents in the Jewish quarter of the town, which eventually became the ghetto. They were forced to live in very cramped conditions, with each family only allowed one room in a house. Food was scarce and she had to work in a manufacturing building where she sewed garments for the Germans. They were escorted to the factory by the Jewish police everyday, which ensured that no one could escape. Sadly, one day Helen’s mother was taken away to Treblinka where she was killed.
They family lived like this for 2.5 years until the ghetto was liquidated. Helen was taken to a camp where the conditions were abominable. The barracks were infested with rats who not only ate people’s food but bit their fingers and even their lips while they were sleeping. After, they were loaded onto trains and sent to Auschwitz.
On arrival they were lined up and the selection began. As a young, relatively healthy person, Helen was sent to the right. They were then stripped and made to walk to the showers. The first night was truly a nightmare. They heard constant screaming and when they asked about it the next day were told that “they burned the gypsies, they didn’t even gas them.” There was little work for them to do although some of them were called to dig ditches or carry bricks. She was then taken in a covered truck to work in an ammunition factory where they were given extra food and were able to shower every day as this was considered important work for the German war machine.
By January the advance of the Russian army was unstoppable and the prisoners were forced onto a ‘death march’ because the Germans did not want to reveal the extent of their crimes against humanity. They marched in the snow with only the clothes they had on and their wooden clogs. They marched for days until they reached Mauthausen, a camp for political prisoners, which seemed beautiful to them. They stayed for a few days, relaxing in what seemed like a much nicer
environment, only to be forced into open cattle trucks, on which they traveled, not knowing in which direction.
They arrived to experience the horror of Bergen Belsen. The barracks were filthy. They were starving and even went searching for food amongst the garbage. Some other prisoners had traveled in a train, carrying graphite and were blackened from it. This rubbed off onto the others so they all looked grey. Their life was shear hell. There was no work so they were just waiting and starving, some people were so desperate that they became cannibals and cut open and ate the livers of corpses just to survive.
Finally, on the 15th April, 1945, the British arrived in Belsen, to a sight so terrible as to be unbelievable. There were bodies everywhere and those who were alive looked as if they were the walking dead. The English tried to care for them, putting them up in the German barracks and providing them with food. She stayed there for a while, having nowhere else to go and the conditions were very good there.
Sometime later, her boyfriend, who was to become her husband, heard she was there and came to take her back to Poland. They remained in Poland for a short time but eventually Helen felt that she could no longer live in an atmosphere of anti-Semitism, so they left for Berlin. On arriving there they were assigned a flat but decided to leave Europe for good. They wanted a fresh start in a new country.
They arrived to a new and better life in Australia where they had two daughters and became active members of their community. Helen is a guide at the museum, which is very important to her. Although she finds it difficult reliving her story, she wants to educate people about this time in history and knows that by telling her story, like many other survivors, she is doing just that.
Helen was Polish girl who was thirteen when the war broke out. She had been living a comfortable and happy life until that time. At the outbreak of war Helen’s family tried to escape from their village to Warsaw, not realizing how fast the German advance would be. They were caught on the way and had to return home. However when they arrived back they discovered that their house had been burned down and so went to live with her grandparents in the Jewish quarter of the town, which eventually became the ghetto. They were forced to live in very cramped conditions, with each family only allowed one room in a house. Food was scarce and she had to work in a manufacturing building where she sewed garments for the Germans. They were escorted to the factory by the Jewish police everyday, which ensured that no one could escape. Sadly, one day Helen’s mother was taken away to Treblinka where she was killed.
They family lived like this for 2.5 years until the ghetto was liquidated. Helen was taken to a camp where the conditions were abominable. The barracks were infested with rats who not only ate people’s food but bit their fingers and even their lips while they were sleeping. After, they were loaded onto trains and sent to Auschwitz.
On arrival they were lined up and the selection began. As a young, relatively healthy person, Helen was sent to the right. They were then stripped and made to walk to the showers. The first night was truly a nightmare. They heard constant screaming and when they asked about it the next day were told that “they burned the gypsies, they didn’t even gas them.” There was little work for them to do although some of them were called to dig ditches or carry bricks. She was then taken in a covered truck to work in an ammunition factory where they were given extra food and were able to shower every day as this was considered important work for the German war machine.
By January the advance of the Russian army was unstoppable and the prisoners were forced onto a ‘death march’ because the Germans did not want to reveal the extent of their crimes against humanity. They marched in the snow with only the clothes they had on and their wooden clogs. They marched for days until they reached Mauthausen, a camp for political prisoners, which seemed beautiful to them. They stayed for a few days, relaxing in what seemed like a much nicer
environment, only to be forced into open cattle trucks, on which they traveled, not knowing in which direction.
They arrived to experience the horror of Bergen Belsen. The barracks were filthy. They were starving and even went searching for food amongst the garbage. Some other prisoners had traveled in a train, carrying graphite and were blackened from it. This rubbed off onto the others so they all looked grey. Their life was shear hell. There was no work so they were just waiting and starving, some people were so desperate that they became cannibals and cut open and ate the livers of corpses just to survive.
Finally, on the 15th April, 1945, the British arrived in Belsen, to a sight so terrible as to be unbelievable. There were bodies everywhere and those who were alive looked as if they were the walking dead. The English tried to care for them, putting them up in the German barracks and providing them with food. She stayed there for a while, having nowhere else to go and the conditions were very good there.
Sometime later, her boyfriend, who was to become her husband, heard she was there and came to take her back to Poland. They remained in Poland for a short time but eventually Helen felt that she could no longer live in an atmosphere of anti-Semitism, so they left for Berlin. On arriving there they were assigned a flat but decided to leave Europe for good. They wanted a fresh start in a new country.
They arrived to a new and better life in Australia where they had two daughters and became active members of their community. Helen is a guide at the museum, which is very important to her. Although she finds it difficult reliving her story, she wants to educate people about this time in history and knows that by telling her story, like many other survivors, she is doing just that.
Production date 2000 - 2000
Subjectsurvivors
Object nametestimonies
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated byStan and ed Helen Grosman