Helen was 23 when the Jews in her Romanian village were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. She survived hunger and deprivation, finally escaping with her sister when they were on a Nazi-guided death march away from Auschwitz.
She made her way back to Romania by walking and hopping freight trains, reuniting there with her prewar fiancé, Joe. The couple eventually settled in Burlingame to build a new life in America.
In 1974, Farkas talked to her daughter’s high school class about her Holocaust ordeal, and then became a frequent speaker with the JFCS Holocaust Center. Helen Farkas z’l passed away at the age of 97 in January 2018.