Rebecca Gratz to Benjamin Gratz - July 17, 1859

Writing to her aunt Rebecca, Miriam offers congratulations to Isaac and Sally Hays, who just gave birth. Miriam also expresses her anxiety over her current pregnancy, after having lost several in the past, and thanks Rebecca for the baby gifts.

Rebecca sends further updates to her sister-in-law Maria about her sons, who are staying with Rebecca, including about Bernard's tooth extraction. Rebecca's niece Sara tells Maria more about her sons and asks her to come back soon.

Rebecca writes to her brother Ben about the increasing health struggles of their brother Joseph.

Writing to her sister-in-law Maria, Rebecca shows support for Maria's sister, Sara, who recently lost a son. She also shares Julia Hoffman's living plans after the death of her father and includes a receipt for expenses.

Rebecca writes to her brother Ben regarding his propensity towards travel, the physical and mental health of family members, that cold weather has dampened social gatherings, news of marital engagements, professional activities of family members, and reflections on the Purim holiday.

Helene Goodman, formerly Henia Flint, was born in Lodz, Poland in 1913 into an orthodox family. She studied piano at the Warsaw Conservatory posing as a non-Jew, and got her diploma in 1935. She briefly describes how the German invasion affected Polish Jews. In 1939 Helene and her family had to move to the Lodz Ghetto. Her father was brutally beaten by the KRIPO (Kriminalpolizei), lost his mind, and later died. She witnessed Polish-German cooperation, and the murder of Jewish orphans in the ghetto.

Helene and her mother were transported to Auschwitz in August 1944, when the ghetto was liquidated. She describes the dehumanizing arrival process. During a “selection” by Dr. Mengele, she was separated from her mother and never saw her again. She is the lone survivor of her family. Helene was forced to play the piano for the camp commander’s birthday party and was stabbed repeatedly when she was too stunned to perform. Her wounds were not treated. A Jewish KAPO put her on a transport to Hainichen (a subcamp of Flossenbürg), near Chemnitz, Germany to save her life.

Helene worked as a slave laborer at Framowerke, an ammunition factory. She describes living and working conditions. The supervisor was Gertrude Becker, an SS woman who was extremely cruel. She describes the effects of near starvation, how she tried to cope, and her acts of sabotage.

Helene describes a Deathmarch at the end of April 1945, guarded by SS officers who took off their uniforms and fled once they arrived at Theresienstadt. She was liberated by the Soviet army May 9, 1945. Soviet women doctors treated the survivors. American soldiers took her to a quarantine camp at Landsberg am Lech where she tried to recover from the physical and emotional after effects of her experiences. She describes her post-war life in Regensburg, Germany after she met and married her husband, Jacob Gottlieb, including a frightening act of antisemitism and Zionist activities.. They lived in Regensburg, Germany until they immigrated to the United States. She concludes with her personal reflections on the Holocaust.