Helen was born in Lithuania, in 1932. In 1944, after the Kovno Ghetto was liquidated, Helen and her mother were shipped to the Stutthof concentration camp.  The men were separated, including Helen’s father Yitzhak, who was taken to Dachau and killed. In January of 1945, Helen and her mother were left behind while the Jews of the camp went on a death march. Nazi soldiers then entered their tent and injected them with a poisonous substance. While several others died, miraculously, Helen and her mother survived. In 1948, Helen came to Canada where she has made it her life’s work to teach Canadian students about the terrible consequences of hatred and intolerance. Helen married Aaron Yermus in 1952, and Helen and Aaron have three children and nine grandchildren.

Helen visited us at Crestwood in January 2018, when she spoke to English 8 students.  Arielle Meyer and senior students edited her interview for this webpage.