Helga lived in Marosvásárhely (Târgu Mures) with her parents, her twin sister Nora and their sister Zsuzsa, three years older than her. Their father, Dr Mór Berner, worked as a dermatologist. In May 1944, the family was driven to the ghetto in Târgu Mures and then to the concentration camp there. They were separated from each other on the ramp at Birkenau, and all but the father were killed in the gas chambers.