Tom Andrea

She stood naked among hundreds of other women, waiting for death. The heavy iron doors slammed shut. During the freezing winter of 1944, Gena Turgel found herself inside a gas chamber at Auschwitz-Birkenau, waiting for the Zyklon B gas. Minutes passed in complete darkness. Women whispered prayers and quietly cried. But the gas never arrived. When the guards finally opened the doors, they were stunned to find that the women were still alive. Gena walked out on her own feet. Years later she said simply, “God must have protected me.” She was later transferred to Bergen-Belsen. It was there that she encountered Anne Frank, who was gravely ill with typhus. Despite the danger, Gena brought her water, washed her face, and held her hand. Anne died just weeks before the camp was liberated. Gena later recalled, “Her eyes, they were screaming.” On April 15, 1945, British troops liberated Bergen-Belsen. Amid the devastation Gena met Norman Turgel, a British intelligence officer. Six months later they were married. Her wedding dress was made entirely from the silk of a British Army parachute. The dress is now preserved at the Imperial War Museum in London. Gena Turgel lived to the age of ninety-five and became a respected voice in Holocaust education. For decades she visited schools and spoke about what she had endured, without allowing hatred to define her message. She wanted future generations to understand the importance of compassion and respect. Her life had taken her through unimaginable loss, yet she continued to speak about the value of kindness.