My Voice: Helen Stein

Helen Stein was born in Strasbourg on 28 December 1930, the eldest of 3 children. When war broke out, Helen and her family were evacuated to the free zone of St-Junien, near Limoges. However, in November 1942, the Germans crossed the line and the region was occupied.

Helen and her siblings fled to Switzerland led by Marianne Cohn, who had already smuggled many children over the border to safety. They all had false papers and Helen became Helene Blanchet.

Unfortunately, when they were almost at the Swiss border, they were arrested by the Germans. At aged 13 Helen found herself in the Prison du Pax in Annemasse, terrified and looking after her younger siblings. They expected to be killed or sent to Auschwitz.

After the war, Helen and her siblings were reunited with her parents. However, none of her mother or father’s relatives survived the war.

In 1953 Helen married Leo Stein, a survivor from Germany who had settled in Manchester, and they had two children. Helen has never forgotten Marianne Cohn, who died rather than betray her colleagues and the children. Helen’s book is dedicated to Marianne.

Helen's book is part of the My Voice book collection, a stand-alone project of The Fed, the leading Jewish social care charity in Manchester, dedicated to preserving the life stories of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.