Dancing over the abyss: the story of Edith Eger - a little ballerina from Auschwitz (13 photos)

The history of the 20th century contains many horrific chapters, but the Holocaust is one of the most painful. Millions of lives were shattered, families destroyed, childhoods erased. But amidst the darkness, there were people who, having endured unimaginable pain, not only survived but were able to become a light for others. One of them is Edith Eva Eger. Her story is not only about surviving a concentration camp, but also about fortitude, forgiveness, and the inner freedom that no executioner can take away.





Music, Ballet, and First Love

Edith Elefant was born on September 29, 1927, in Košice, Slovakia. She was born into a large family of tailor Lajos Elefant, who was renowned for his craftsmanship. He always had plenty of orders, and the family lacked nothing. Nevertheless, Edith and her sisters Magda and Klara grew up under the strict supervision of their parents. Despite their financial well-being, their childhood was difficult due to their parents' constant demands.



Lajos and Ilona Elefant

Lajos and his wife Ilona raised their children with strict discipline, maintaining iron discipline in the home. Magda, Klara, and Edith learned to play several musical instruments from an early age and also sang in a choir. When it became clear that Edith had no particular musical talent, her parents continued their efforts to develop her abilities. At the age of five, she was immediately sent to ballet school.





Edith Eger

As a teenager, Edith became interested in gymnastics. At first, she thought it was useful for improving her dance skills, but soon she truly fell in love with the sport. Gymnastics quickly became the main focus of her life, pushing ballet into the background. In 1938, the situation changed dramatically: Hungary annexed Košice, and hard times began for the Jewish family. Yellow stars on their clothes, strict restrictions, and constant fear became an integral part of their daily life.



The Elephant Sisters: Edith (center), Klara (left), and Magda (right)

The young athlete Edith showed excellent results and was even considered for the Olympic team. But her dream never came true, all because of her Jewish heritage. The Olympics were never held. It was the early 1940s, when World War II was already raging in Europe, and the lives of Jews were becoming increasingly dangerous. In 1941, 14-year-old Edith met her first love, a teenager named Eric. They spent a lot of time together. Eric, who was interested in photography, often photographed Edith during her gymnastics exercises.

From the Ballet to Auschwitz

The relatively peaceful life of the Elefant family lasted until the summer of 1943. In August, the Nazis took Edith's father to a labor camp. He was released six months later, but in March 1944, the entire family was sent to forced labor. They were sent to the Jakab brick factory. From there, the Jews had only one route left—to the Auschwitz concentration camp.



Photo of Edith taken by Eric

Of the entire family, only Klara escaped arrest. When the soldiers arrived at the tailor's house, she was giving a concert in Budapest. She was saved by her music teacher—he wouldn't let her go home and passed her off as his Magyar daughter until the end of the war. Fortunately, Klara had typical non-Jewish features. But Ilona, ​​Lajos, Magda, and Edith, finding themselves in the brick factory, had no idea what awaited them. They were told the family would be sent to an ordinary internment camp, where they would await the end of the war.

The family spent a month at the factory. Over 20,000 Jews awaited their fate with them. Later, Edith and her family were loaded onto a freight car and taken somewhere. Many years later, Edith Eger would write in her book that she would give up anything to return to that car. After all, it was there that their family was last together.



Arrival of a new batch of prisoners at Auschwitz

The Jews were brought to the Auschwitz concentration camp and immediately on the platform were divided into two groups. One included those aged 14 to 40, and the other included everyone else. Lajos and Ilona were over 40 and were separated from their daughters. The older group of prisoners was taken away, ostensibly to take a shower. In reality, they were all sent to the gas chambers.

Dancing on the Edge of Life and Death

After that, terrible days began, filled with cold, hunger, and backbreaking labor. Edith, the former cheerful ballerina and athlete, soon became only a shadow in a gray camp uniform. However, when Dr. Mengele himself came to the barracks looking for dancers, someone pushed the teenager out of line. "Dr. Death" was in a good mood and wanted someone to dance for him.



Josef Mengele

At the doctor's command, the orchestra of prisoner musicians struck up Strauss's waltz "On the Beautiful Blue Danube." Edith was lucky—she knew the dance. Afterward, Tchaikovsky began to play. Edith danced with her eyes closed, imagining she was on a theater stage. Mengele liked the performance—he praised the prisoner and gave her a loaf of bread. Edith immediately shared it with her sister and several other barracksmates.

Soon, Edith's skills saved her sister's life. The prisoners from their barracks were lined up to have a number tattooed on their arm. The exhausted dancer didn't make it into the line—the guards sent her to a separate group. At the time, she couldn't understand what this meant. Typically, such separations ended with one of the groups being sent to the gas chamber.



Women's barracks at Auschwitz

Edith took a risky step and distracted the guards by doing cartwheels several times. While the Nazis watched her tricks, Magda quietly ran over to her sister. The girls were lucky: they were simply sent back to the barracks. The Germans decided to separate the most frail prisoners to save the tattoo artist's time and ink. They figured these "unaccounted for" prisoners would soon die of exhaustion anyway, and it wasn't worth wasting gas on them.

From Auschwitz to Gunskirchen: A Journey Through Hell and the Miracle of Survival

In the camp, Edith realized that even in hell, a person can choose—to dwell on suffering or to seek meaning in order to live. It was this attitude that helped her survive until the end of the war. In November 1944, Soviet troops began approaching Auschwitz. The Nazis began to erase traces of their crimes and prepared the camp for evacuation. On Himmler's orders, they blew up the gas chambers and crematoria.



When the gradual evacuation of prisoners began, Edith and Magda were deemed strong enough to survive the journey. Along with other prisoners, the sisters were taken from Poland to Germany. There, a multi-day "death march" began. The prisoners were herded along the country's roads from factory to factory. They worked for a time, manufacturing military goods, and then were sent on their way.

In March 1945, the greatly depleted Auschwitz convoy arrived in Austria, at the Mauthausen concentration camp. There were no factories or plants there—the prisoners worked in a granite quarry and stone pits. From there, the survivors were transferred to the tiny Gunskirchen camp, designed for just 200 prisoners. Edith, exhausted, was carried there by her barracks mates. During the "death march," Edith had injured her spine. Her condition was critical: pneumonia, typhus, and a back injury nearly took her life.



Death March

The conditions of the prisoners in Gunskirchen were appalling. This place was not intended for work or housing—people were brought here to die. Soon, Edith and Magda found themselves outside, in the rain, in a pile of bodies, some dead, some dying. They were lucky: the camp was liberated by American troops. Doctors at the military hospital barely managed to save the girls.

Life After Hell: Love, Emigration, and the Path to a Vocation

During her treatment, Edith met a partisan, Bela Eger, who would later become her husband. After the war, Edith and Magda returned to their native Košice, where their sister, Klara, was already waiting for them. There, Edith learned that her fiancé, Erik, had died in Auschwitz just the day before the camp's liberation. The trauma she suffered during the war and the guilt over her survival haunted her for a long time.



Edith Eger with her husband and daughter

Soon, Bela Eger came to visit Edith, and they were married. The newlyweds settled in Eger's estate in Czechoslovakia. Bela was a wealthy man, and the couple soon had a daughter. But their happiness was short-lived. In 1948, the Communists came to power in Czechoslovakia.

Bela was arrested, and his property was nationalized. Edith managed to secure her husband's release, but they were forced to leave the country. The Eger family, along with Magda, settled in the United States, while Klara moved to Australia. In America, Edith, her husband, and daughter settled in El Paso, Texas. There they had two more children.



Family life wasn't ideal. Inspired by Viktor Frankl's book "Man's Search for Meaning," Edith decided to study psychology. She dreamed of earning a degree in psychology, but her husband was categorically opposed. Due to this conflict, they divorced in 1969. However, they soon realized they couldn't live without each other, and in 1971, they remarried. Edith eventually completed her studies and received her diploma. In 1978, she defended her doctoral dissertation. Afterward, she began working as a psychologist, helping soldiers and women who had experienced violence.

Return to Auschwitz and the "Treasured Wound"

In 1999, Edith Eger returned to Auschwitz. She wrote of this difficult but necessary journey:

"Returning to the lion's den, looking him in the eye, feeling my rage, and placing the blame for what happened on the perpetrators was essential to becoming who I am today. I was able to say goodbye to my parents. Every day, I work to honor the pain I brought from Auschwitz; it lives right here, in my heart. However, I will not let it control me. I acknowledge what happened and move on. I call it my cherished wound. A part of me remained in Auschwitz, but not the best part."



Edith Jaeger compiled her thoughts and experiences in the book "The Choice." Published in 2017, it quickly became a bestseller. In it, the author shares not only her memories of Auschwitz but also the important lessons that helped her and her patients. The book's central message is that freedom begins when a person accepts what has happened and decides how to live their life. Her second book, "The Gift," was published in 2020.

Edith Eger Today: An Inspiration for the World

Today, Dr. Edith Eger is an internationally recognized psychologist whose lectures draw thousands of listeners. Her story is more than just a tale of survival. It is an example of how trauma can be transformed into strength. Edith has proven that even after living through hell, it is possible to build a happy life, help others, and leave a mark on the world.

Edith Eger will soon turn 100. She has seven great-grandchildren, whom she calls "the best revenge on Hitler." This remarkable woman continues to work in California, inspiring people through books, speeches, and personal consultations. Her motto is: "The prison is in our minds, but the key is in our hands." These words remind us that the choice is always ours.

Edith Eger's story is not only a tale of the past but also a source of inspiration for the present. Her life demonstrates that humans can be stronger than fear, pain, and injustice. Do you think it's possible to forgive what seems unforgivable? And how can we learn to choose the light even in life's darkest moments?