The Nazis knew my name : a remarkable story of survival and courage in Auschwitz
by Hellinger, Magda, 1916-2006 (Author), Lee, Maya (Author), Brewster, David, 1965- (Author)
Summary
"In March 1942, at the age of 25, kindergarten teacher Magda Hellinger was deported from her hometown in Slovakia along with 998 other young women. They were some of the first Jews to be sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Very few would survive the next three years until liberation. The SS so... Full description
Summary: |
"In March 1942, at the age of 25, kindergarten teacher Magda Hellinger was deported from her hometown in Slovakia along with 998 other young women. They were some of the first Jews to be sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Very few would survive the next three years until liberation. The SS soon discovered that by putting prisoners in day-to-day charge of the accommodation blocks and even the camps at large-so called Blockalteste and Lageralteste respectively-they could both reduce the number of guards required to use these "leaders" to deflect attention away from themselves. Magda was one such Jewish prisoner selected for leadership. Like many others during the war she found herself constantly treading a fine line: how to save lives-if only a few at a time-while avoiding being too "soft" and likely sent to the gas chambers. Through her own inner strength and ingenuity, she was able to rise above the horror and cruelty of the camps and build pivotal relationships with the women under her watch, and some of Auschwitz's most notorious Nazi senior officers. Based on Magda's own personal account and completed by her daughter's extensive research, this awe-inspiring story offers us incredible insight into human nature under the pressure to survive, the power of resilience, and the goodness that can shine through even in the most horrific of conditions"-- |
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Item Description: |
"Originally published in Australia in 2021 by Simon & Schuster (Australia) Pty Limited"--Title page verso |
Physical Description: |
312 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 23 cm |
ISBN: |
9781982181222 1982181222 9781982181239 1982181230 |
Author Notes: |
Maya Lee is the daughter of Magda Hellinger. She is an accomplished businesswoman and fundraiser with several nonprofit organizations. After coauthoring an autobiography of her Holocaust-survivor husband, she encouraged her mother to document her own story. Maya subsequently conducted wide-ranging research to fill out her mother's story. The Nazis Knew My Name is the result. David Brewster is a Melbourne-based freelance writer whose work is centered on helping memoirists tell their stories. David's published works include Scattered Pearls , cowritten with Sohila Zanjani, and Around the Grounds , cowritten with Peter Newlinds. |