First Person with Rose-Helene Spreiregen, April 24, 2019

Through the First Person program, Holocaust survivors have the opportunity to share their remarkable personal stories of hope, tragedy, and survival with thousands of visitors at the Museum. This program was livestreamed on April 24, 2019. It features Rose-Helene Spreiregen, who was born in Paris, France in 1931. In May 1940, Germany invaded France. Later that year, antisemitic legislation was instituted in France, requiring all Jews to register with local authorities and wear a yellow Star of David on their garments at all times. Other restrictive measures were also passed. By the summer of 1942, it became unsafe for Rose-Helene to attend school, as Jewish children were being arrested while in class and deported with their families. for an entire year after her mother Rivka’s arrest, Rose-Helene hid in the apartment of her grandmother and did not leave it for a year. In August 1943, they were able to flee to the unoccupied zone and found safety in the village of Voiron. After the Allies liberated Paris, the two women returned to Paris in November of 1944. Rose-Helene’s mother never returned, having been murdered in Auschwitz.