murdered before my eyes

Helen Segal was the only child of a middle class family living in Chernovitz, Romania, a province with a Jewish population of over 50,000 before the war. Her family survived the Russian occupation, but she experienced her darkest days when the Germans took command.

Helen witnessed the murder of her mother by the Nazis. She was saved only because her father shoved her behind a door when the shooting started. Left in a state of shock, Helen and her father moved into the ghetto, where her father protected her until the end of the war.

After the war Helen emigrated to Minneapolis where she married and raised a family. Although Helen has suffered great losses, she is grateful for the blessings of friends and family. “This is the best country in the whole world. I wouldn’t want to live anyplace else.”