Inheritance - the story of Monika Hertwig

[Walt's Daughter]

Born in April 1925, Helen Jonas spent her youth in Krakow, Poland with her devoted parents and two older sisters. Helen was a teenager as Hitler began his rise to power, and a sense of foreboding blanketed Poland. One day, two armed SS soldiers stormed Helen’s home in the Krakow Jewish Ghetto and dragged her father into the street. Helen never saw him again. Soon after, the Nazis forced Helen, along with her mother and sisters from their home, and interned them to the Plaszow Concentration Camp. At that moment, Helen’s childhood ended.

 

During her third day at Plaszow, Amon Goeth, commandant of the Camp, separated Helen from her mother and sisters and ordered her to work in his villa as his housemaid. Her mother later fell ill and died in the Camp. Each day, for the next two years, Helen lived enslaved; she endured and witnessed incomprehensible horrors, fearing each day would be her last. The one hope in her hell was Oskar Schindler. He rescued Helen and her sisters and brought them to work in his factory in Brunnlitz, Czechoslovakia where they remained until the end of the war.

 

Helen met Joseph Jonas two days after liberation, and they married on August 30, 1946, at a displacement camp in Austria. The following year in December, they came to the United States and settled in the Bronx. Helen and Joseph spent 34 years together, raising their three children: Steven, the eldest, and twin daughters, Vivian and Shelley. As a young mother, Helen attended school, studied electrolysis, and opened a highly successful private practice that she ran for 28 years.

 

Family is the driving force in Helen’s life. Ten years after Joseph’s death, Helen married Henry Rosenzweig on July 9, 1990. Helen cherishes the close relationship she maintains with her children. A proud grandparent, Helen adores her four grandchildren and delights in the time she spends with them.

 

Much of Helen’s time is dedicated to several charities and organizations that help Israeli families. A member of the National Council of Jewish Women, a renowned volunteer organization, Helen serves as chairwoman for the Yad B’Yad Program (Hand-in-Hand with Israel Program). The program supports families in need by providing a wealth of services such as new computers for schools, playgrounds for pre-school centers, programs for single mothers, and assistance to victims of domestic violence. Helen and Henry also helped fund the construction of a new home for developmentally disabled women through the Akim Organization in Israel. The live-in home, donated in Helen and Henry’s name, provides therapy, social work and education for the residents. Helen and Henry attended the dedication in Rahavot, Israel. She is also heavily involved with Belt Halochem, a rehabilitation facility for Israeli soldiers and veterans.

 

Helen feels a deep responsibility to speak out about her history and spends the majority of her time educating students about the Holocaust. She has been interviewed a number of times, in several countries. She continues to speak at various colleges, high schools, and Jewish Federations, as she has done for so many years, sharing her experiences in hopes of promoting tolerance and acceptance, and eradicating hate.