Helen Lewis: "The Dancing Holocaust Survivor"

 
Helen-Lewis-Blue-Plaque-Holocaust.jpg

Meet Helen Lewis

Helen Lewis (1916-2009) was a dancer, choreographer and Holocaust Survivor who moved to Belfast after WW2.

Growing up in Czechoslovakia, she witnessed attitudes towards her Jewish friends and family change with the rise of Nazis Germany. When the war broke out, she, her husband and her parents were moved to the Jewish ghetto Terezín before being imprisoned in separate concentration camps — where only she survived.

After Auschwitz, Helen moved to Northern Ireland where she went on to become a dance teacher and the founder of the Belfast Modern Dance Group — a movement which introduced contemporary dance to Northern Ireland and touched the lives of thousands. Her contribution to the life of Belfast was recognised by the award of honorary doctorates from both universities and by her appointment as MBE in 2000.

In this week's episode, we caught up with friends, family members and former students of Helen to find out more about her remarkable life and why it's more important than ever to keep telling her story today.

Check it out.

Introducing The Streets Where They Lived…

Danny Blanchflower Documentary.jpg
bricklogo-01.png
logo.png

This episode is part of The Streets Where They Lived: a new documentary collaboration between Successful Belfast, the Belfast Buildings Trust, and Best of Belfast. 

The six-part series will feature the stories of six incredible but sometimes overlooked men and women from Belfast and some of the buildings and places in the City with which they’re connected. We’ll hear from family members and people who know their story to help us better understand some of the lesser-told stories of the City. 

The people and buildings have been chosen to reflect a diverse set of Belfast’s people: working-class to Knights, industrial power to sporting prowess, immigrants and survivors, and covers buildings from Arts centres to the old Town Hall, red-brick terraced houses to historic Victorian churches and industrial complexes.

The project is a collaboration with Successful Belfast, a project of Belfast Buildings Trust. It is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Belfast Buildings Trust is a charity founded in 1996 to regenerate Belfast’s landmark buildings. The Trust works to ensure that the City’s authentic heritage is made relevant for people today. One of its projects is Successful Belfast, which champions new and creative ways of involving people in Belfast’s future development.  

Support for the series came from a wide range of local historians, heritage, and civic organisations. All of them helped make today’s podcast possible.

The Streets Where They Lived is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Helen Lewis’ episode was written by Matthew Thompson and produced/edited by Owen McFadden.

Facts About Helen

  • Born in Czechoslovakia

  • Learned to dance in Prague

  • She studied Philosophy at university

  • (Because it had the least class time so she could dance more!)

  • Moved to Belfast in 1947

  • Started writing her memoir in 1986 by hand

  • Many people didn't know about her past until she published the book.

  • (And it's still in print, you can pick it up on Amazon).

  • She taught dance to Irish president Mary Robinson

  • Her recurring nightmares stopped after the birth of her children

  • Helen's life was adapted for the stage by Sam McCready

  • (Where Helen was played by close friend Joan McCready)

  • She died on New Year’s Eve in her home in Belfast at age 93

  • The Helen Lewis Blue Plaque is on The Crescent Art Centre

  • (Where a dance studio is also named in her honour)

How To Listen To This Helen Lewis Documentary

If you don’t have time to tune in right now, you can listen to today’s show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Overcast or your favourite podcast app.

If it’s your first time listening to a podcast, click here to learn how to listen and enjoy audio shows.

Thanks for listening, wanna hear more local stories?

Thanks again for taking the time to listen to this special episode all about Helen Lewis.

To stay in the loop about more great local stories, subscribe to our email newsletter or see who else we’ve interviewed here.

See you next time.

Cheers!

— Matt

P.S. You can share this episode with friends/family by clicking the buttons below.

 
Matthew Thompson