Nazis Knew My Name, Magda Hellinger
Nazis Knew My Name, Magda Hellinger
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Nazis Knew My Name
A Remarkable Story of Survival and Courage in Auschwitz

Author: Magda Hellinger, Maya Lee, David Brewster

Narrator: Kristin Atherton, Zoe Carides

Unabridged: 8 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/15/2022


Synopsis

The “thought-provoking…must-read” (Ariana Neumann, author of When Time Stopped) memoir by a Holocaust survivor who saved an untold number of lives at Auschwitz through everyday acts of courage and kindness—in the vein of A Bookshop in Berlin and The Nazi Officer’s Wife.

In March 1942, twenty-five-year-old kindergarten teacher Magda Hellinger and nearly a thousand other young women were deported as some of the first Jews to be sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The SS soon discovered that by putting prisoners in charge of the day-to-day accommodation blocks, they could deflect attention away from themselves. Magda was one such prisoner selected for leadership and put in charge of hundreds of women in the notorious Experimental Block 10. She found herself constantly walking a dangerously fine line: saving lives while avoiding suspicion by the SS and risking execution. Through her inner strength and shrewd survival instincts, she was able to rise above the horror and cruelty of the camps and build pivotal relationships with the women under her watch, and even some of Auschwitz’s most notorious Nazi senior officers.

Based on Magda’s personal account and completed by her daughter’s extensive research, this is “an unputdownable account of resilience and the power of compassion” (Booklist) in the face of indescribable evil.

About Magda Hellinger

Magda Hellinger was deported to Auschwitz on the second transport from Slovakia in March 1942, at the age of twenty-five. She was one of the very few to survive over three years in concentration camps. During her time in Auschwitz-Birkenau she held various prisoner functionary positions and had direct dealings with prominent SS personnel, using her unique position to save hundreds of lives.

About Maya Lee

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.

About David Brewster

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.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Victor on August 31, 2024

O carte foarte dură despre atrocitățile din lagărul Auschwitz-Birkenau și despre modul în care au reușit unii dintre prizonieri să supraviețuiască peste 3 ani acolo. O poveste pe care ar trebui să o cunoască toată lumea astfel încât așa ceva să nu se mai întâmple niciodată.......more

Goodreads review by Lindy on September 09, 2021

I read this book in one sitting & could not put it down. I have read many different memoirs about the Holocaust. This book was very different to the others I have read. It was written in a way that really made me understand, and feel like I was actually going through the experiences with Magda. The......more

Goodreads review by Floor on March 13, 2022

Indrukwekkend verhaal. Magda bezat veel lef en wist daarmee velen te redden van de gaskamer door haar (gedwongen) positie. Niks meer dan respect voor die vrouw en het is een wonder dat ze de Holocaust overleefde ondanks de risico's die ze nam in het kamp. Bevat foto's en een verklarende woordenlijst......more

Goodreads review by Jeanette on June 07, 2022

In memory of her mother, Magda Hellinger who died at the age of 89 daughter Maya Lee sets about investigating beyond what her mother wrote of her internment in the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz. Magda was only twenty five, a kindergarten teacher and was one of the first Jews to be deported. Am......more

Goodreads review by Alexandra on November 11, 2022

When I was younger I read alot of holocaust stories essp Anne Frank however the time period angered me and upset me but it needs to be known this story is not for the faint of heart its brutal and honest the story centers around a woman named Magda H. Who was a kindergarten Teacher and jewish she ge......more