Elena grew up in Merano on the Austrian-Italian border. Following a happy childhood in the Italian Tyrol and later on in Milan, the rise of antisemitism in Mussolini's regime in the late 1930s caused Elena's parents to arrange for her to escape to England with her brother Josie, where they experienced life with foster families and in hostels in Manchester, and as evacuees in Blackpool. My Voice: Elena Grosskopf tells the story of her life before, during and after the Holocaust.

After the war, Elena married Leo. They settled in Manchester and had three children, regularly travelling to Italy to spend time with Elena's parents who had miraculously survived the war and found one another again there. Elena was very involved in charity work in Manchester. She and her friends arranged charity dinners for UJIA and Jewish Grammar School. In later years, she cooked for the Manchester Jewish soup kitchen. Elena and Leo had a wonderful, happy life together. Sadly, Leo passed away in March 1987. Elena has seven grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.