User:Calmer92/Helen N. Fagin

Helen N. Fagin
Helen N Fagin was born on February 1, 1922 in Radomsko, Poland, to Ewa and Soloman Neimark. After high school, Helen attended the Jagiellonian University in Krakow.

In September 1942, Helen’s parents  were  captured in  a  raid  while  Helen  and  her  two  sisters managed to hide. Helen and her siblings never saw their parents again. Helen was just 21 when she and her sisters were imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland. While in the ghetto, Fagin taught literature and other subjects to Jewish children looking for a chance to learn. She focused on literary studies, reading books such as Gone with the Wind.

After their liberation, Helen and her sister  returned to Radomsko and  eventually went to a displaced persons' camp in Bad Gastein, Austria. Helen and her sisters declared themselves stateless around this time.

Life in America
Helen arrived in America in 1946. She met her future husband, Sidney Fagin, in 1947. Together they moved to Miami, FL, where Helen studied English Literature and received a Ph. D. from the University of Miami. Helen taught literature and Judaic studies for over two decades at the University of Miami. Helen and her family later retired to Sarasota, FL.

Honors
Helen Fagin received several invitations to serve in important posts during her career. For example, in 1979, Elie Wiesel invited Dr. Fagin to serve as an education advisor. Dr. Fagin was also the Chairperson, Education Committee, for the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. In 1993, President Clinton appointed Dr. Fagin to serve on the Presidential Commission for the building of the World War II Memorial on the mall in the nation’s capital.

In 2008, the New College of Florida's Jane Cook Library opened the Helen N. Fagin Holocaust, Genocide and Humanitarian Collection in her honor. The special collection includes material, including books and movies pertaining to the Holocaust, as well as some of Fagin's own papers and collective writing.

In 2011, Fagin gave the commencement address at the graduation ceremonies of the class of 2011 at the New College of Florida.

In 2019, the Helen N. Fagin Holocaust, Genocide and Humanitarian Collection was rededicated, renamed to the Helen N. Fagin Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Collection.

Personal Life
After arriving to the United States, Helen married Sid Fagin in 1946. In 1951, they moved to Miami, FL where Sidney worked as a contractor. Together they had two children, Judith and Gary. Sid Fagin passed away at the age of 94 on October 27, 2016 in Sarasota, FL.

Helen Fagin is Neil Gaiman's cousin.

Writing
Helen Fagin has written extensively on the topic of the Holocaust, memory,