Tuesday, November 30, 2021 - 4:00 pm Pacific Time
Of the rich collection of primary-source artifacts that survived the Holocaust, those created and held by Jews in concentration camps are among the most precious. Helga Blumenfeld was born in Berlin in 1925 to Hugo and Lisbeth. Following Kristallnacht, the Nazis separated Helga from her parents and deported her alone to the Gabersdorf Concentration Camp in Czechoslovakia. Helga secretly carried with her some personal family objects, including her mother’s prayer book and a photo of her parents, which she hid in the ceiling of her barrack. While in the camp, she and the friends she made in the camp created extraordinary items such as a clandestine Passover Haggadah and a belt that Helga wore beneath her camp uniform documenting her experiences. Soviet troops liberated Gabersdorf in May 1945, and Helga soon discovered that the friends she had made in the camp were the only family she had left. Her precious smuggled objects were all that remained of her parents. Join Holocaust Museum LA's Vice President of Education & Exhibits, Jordanna Gessler, and Collections Manager, Christie Jovanovic, as they explore the incredible story of survival behind these unique artifacts.
