Daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors

Dutch family hid her mother and grandmother

Helen Rubel is the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. Helen shares her mother’s first person account of being hidden in an attic in Amsterdam to escape being captured during the Nazi takeover of Holland. The family had lived in harmony with their Christian neighbors in Hadamar, Germany prior to Hitler’s rule. After Krystallnacht in 1938, the night of broken glass when the Nazis destroyed Jewish homes businesses and synagogues, their lives changed. The family fled to Holland.

Quoting her mother's letters and writing, Helen's narrative provides a first hand testimony. An important theme is the value of being an “upstander”, someone who stands up for what is just. This concept is illustrated by the courage of the Dutch family who risked their lives to hide Helen’s mother and grandmother. Helen also explores the themes of perseverance, resourcefulness, risk taking, and luck that contributed to her family’s survival.

Since 1987 Helen has spoken to a wide variety of groups about her family’s experiences as well as the impact of growing up as a child of survivors and as a first generation American. She has made visits to her parents’ home towns in Germany and participated in remembrance programs.

Helen lives in Irvington, NY with her husband, a retired attorney. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has worked with diverse populations in New York City and Westchester. Her son and daughter live in Rockville, MD and Stamford, CT respectively. Both are special education teachers.

Helen is a member of GenerationsForward, a group of second and third generation individuals sponsored by the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center of White Plains, NY. Recently Helen has spoken with school groups from Yonkers and the Hackley School.

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