It’s been 77 years since the Soviet army liberated Auschwitz, the largest extermination camp run by Nazis during World War II.
An estimated 1.3 million people were sent to Auschwitz. Some 1.1 million died there.
That number might have been even higher if not forMagda Hellinger, a Slovakian woman who was one of the first Jewish people to arrive at the camp.
Nazi guards appointed Magda block leader at Auschwitz — a role she used to save lives while risking execution.
Her story is captured in a new memoir called “The Nazis Knew My Name: A Remarkable Story of Survival and Courage in Auschwitz.”
Magda’s daughter,Maya Lee,helped complete her unfinished story after her death in 2006.
From “The Nazis Knew My Name”:
We talk with Maya about her mother’s story.
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