Magda Hellinger [part 2]: The Auschwitz Prisoner Who Saved Lives Through Compassion

World History: True Stories of the 20th Century · Jul 25, 2026 · 20m

Magda Hellinger was a Jewish prisoner leader in Auschwitz-Birkenau who risked her life to save thousands of women from Nazi persecution. A young Slovak Jewish woman, she survived more than three years in the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Birkenau. Deported in March 1942 as part of the first transport from Slovakia, Magda was later put in charge of more than 30,000 female prisoners in Birkenau. Instead of abusing her authority, she used her position to help others survive.

She protected pregnant women, hid prisoners marked for death, stood up to SS guards such as Irma Grese and Maria…