So many podcasts with Dr. Edie! I never told anyone that they were spending their days murdering people. She and her family were sent to Auschwitz, the heinous death camp. ", Edith founded her own clinical practice in La Jolla, California. Be a good role model to young ones by becoming a kind, loving parent to yourself. He asked me if my mother was really my mother or was she my sister. As a child, Edith was acutely aware of these changes. Edith was a promising gymnast and a ballet dancer and had made the Hungarian Olympic team in gymnastics. For thirty years, even her own children did not know that their mother, Dr. Edith Eva Eger, a native of Hungary, had been to concentration camps. I didn't know then that Christ was a good Jewish boy.". Eger spent eight months at the death camp in southern Poland where she was starved, beaten and humiliated by soldiers. This is a question to answer. But of course she was suffering terribly as well. Edith's mother was just one of the 1.1 million people, primarily Jews, who died at Auschwitz, the most deadly and efficient of the Nazi death camps which were dotted through rural Poland during the World War II occupation of the country. I had my secrets. A native of Hungary, Edith Eger was a teenager in 1944 when she and her family were sent to Auschwitz during the Second World War. Their own youth had been taken away from them. "I could not be a good guide to my patients or take them any further than I'd gone myself. "People said where was God but I always say that God was with me. We had to cooperate, not compete and dominate. Edith was in the prime of her life before she was sent to Auschwitz. "He wrote me beautiful letters. He spoke in German to me and he was friendly. I was able to change hatred into pity.”. There was a kind of philosophical humour. Eventually I realised that I had to live my life for something.". "I thought my life was over. ", Edith noticed a difference between the way men and women handled the trauma of being in the camp: "Many men ran into the (electrified) barbed wire to kill themselves. There was almost no water. Then on a cold April day in 1944, she and her parents and one of her sisters were loaded into a cattle car and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland. 13. Literally all we had was each other. The weakest, mostly children and old people, were often crushed to death even before the poisonous fumes claimed their lives. She said 'the spirit never dies'.". And then Hitler destroyed all that.". I was victimized. It’s what now, not why me? When Dr. Edith "Edie" Eger was 16, she watched as her parents were led to a gas chamber at Auschwitz, the largest concentration camp run by the Nazis during the Second World War. I told her she had beautiful eyes which I never noticed when she had hair.". I turned hatred into pity. "They were worse than the Nazis in some cases," Edith recalls. I don't ever ask my patients if I can help them. Several people received life sentences. "They tore my earrings from my ears and my ears were bleeding. Edith was made to dance for Mengele, who became infamous for his cruel and mostly lethal experiments on children (the whole time Edith was in Auschwitz she never saw a child under 14 - almost all were killed immediately). I kept looking down at my hands and thinking, I'm going to meet him again and look in his eyes, and that kept me alive. The biggest disruptor of intimacy is chronic anger and irritation. She took her anger out on me.". Edith's journey to Auschwitz was part of Hitler's Final Solution - the planned extermination of all of the Jews in occupied Europe. Think of a moment in childhood or adolescence when you felt hurt by another's actions. They had been brainwashed. When they shaved her head she turned to me and said 'how do I look?'. It's up to them to put themselves back together again. Yes, sometimes I do yell, but I’ve always been very selective about who I do it in front of. "I was put in a line with my mother and sister - he pointed my mother to the left and my sister to the right. We were very sad, people were crying," she recalls. He was also a Jewish survivor; he had joined the partisans during the war. As one of a dwindling number of Holocaust survivors, Eger feels compelled to share her stories of horror, and hope. However, I did not feel there could ever be justice. "But in fact to get through it we needed to form a community of inmates, a second family, and to look out for each other. From left: sisters Klara, Edith and Magda in 1946. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Holocaust survivor Dr. Edith Eger's new book was released in September 2020. Edith Eger: 'This is an invitation to choose the life you want' ... Children don't do what we say, they do what we do. "We came into the barracks, and Dr Mengele wanted to be entertained. You should both wash the car and do the cooking. By the summer of 1944, Germany was losing the war but the mass extermination of the Jews remained an ideological imperative. In 1949, the couple moved to the US, bringing their by-then two-year-old daughter Marianne with them. A native of Hungary, Edith Eger was a teenager in 1944 when she and her family were sent to Auschwitz during the Second World War. A native of Hungary, Edith Eva Eger was just a teenager in 1944 when she experienced one of the worst evils the human race has ever known. I would ask everyone in Auschwitz to tell me about my eyes; I just wanted to feel human, and I just kept believing that if I survive today, tomorrow I'm going to see my boyfriend. 11. "It was totally unbelievable to finally be free but I saw people who walked out the gate of the camp and then came back. Worry is useless. 3. 9. Add up the total hours you spend working, loving and playing in a typical week. Instead, make a statement. Don’t talk to your husband like he’s your child. She had arrived at the most dangerous place on earth: Auschwitz. "My mother said to me 'we don't know where we're going, we don't know what's going to happen to us, but just remember nobody can ever take away from you what you put in your head'. Despite overwhelming odds, Edith survived the Holocaust and moved with her husband to the United States. Edith Eger’s Hungarian ballet master claps with joy then lifts her off the ground and over his head. "It's painful to look back at the things I went through, but necessary too. Tell yourself: 'Here I am. We had a sip of water and we had to pass the container on.". “They told me I was subhuman and the only way I would get out was as a corpse,” Eger revealed. At 90, she published her memoir, “The Choice,” which tells the story of her survival and healing. ", "I had a white coat and it said 'Dr Eger', but I felt like an imposter because I did not really deal with my past," she says. https://www.rxsmile.com/this-is-not-just-a-jewish-story-its-a-humanities-story But we can choose how we respond to it. In 1969, she received her degree in psychology from the University of Texas, El Paso. Edith and Béla Eger with their daughter Marianne in 1947 For a few years I’ve been dating Gene, a gentle man and a gentleman (Béla died more than 25 years ago), and we go swing-dancing every Sunday. It was a terrifying experience, she explains. She brought home books. Sections, The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life: by Edith Eger is published by by Random House. Are the three categories roughly in balance? She wrote her memoir The Choice, which was an international bestseller in 2017; she appeared on Oprah Winfrey's show. "We can’t control what’s happening. Today, more than seventy years later, Dr. Eger is still triggered by the sound of sirens. The Nazis' policy was to exploit and degrade the concentration camp prisoners in every way imaginable. In 1949, after threats from the communists, they fled together with their daughter to the United States. People asked me did I love my husband and I said, 'are you kidding, he brought me Hungarian salami with Swiss cheese!'. It was quite common for survivors to marry quite quickly. Her parents were sent to the gas chambers but Edith’s bravery kept her and her sister alive. "I knew if I did something wrong, that would be the end of me. I wonder if these trials brought Edith any peace? Now, Dr. Eger is a sought-after clinical psychologist and lecturer, helping … I could not talk about the Holocaust and Auschwitz. In May 1944, 16-year-old Edith Eger stepped out of a filthy cattle wagon onto a platform filled with Nazi guards, prisoners in striped uniforms and snarling dogs. In the 1960s, trials were held in Frankfurt for some of the guards and doctors who worked in Auschwitz. We didn't have the same marriage before; we'd chosen each other anew. I divorced my husband Bela but we remarried. It took decades before Edith Eger realized she had to face the rage and grief that had roiled her emotionally since the war, taking a toll on her closest relationships, including her marriage. Don’t go to bed angry. Be equal partners. In November 1938, Kosice was annexed by Hungary, which would later be overrun by the Germans. That's what happens with the children of immigrants - they end up teaching the parents.". Workers who were deemed too weak to go on were periodically removed and sent to the gas chambers in a process known as the Selektion. Today, she has a powerful message to share with us all. That, in some ways, was one of the worst things of all that happened to me, because you have to understand that the Olympics were my dream and my hope. (See #20) The Gift has been included in Forbes 11 Growth-Oriented Books To Read In 2021. Her latest book, The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life, is quite simply a phenomenal read and in my view a must-read for all of us. And that was devastating. Live in the present. If I had said she was my sister, she would have been sent with me but instead she was sent to the gas chamber. I woke up in the morning and realised my parents were not there and it really upset me. There is no man’s job or woman’s job. After the war I was suicidal. It was a terrible moment. 'For everyone, this is a time to discover our inner resources' Couples, take this time-out period as an opportunity to face each other. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A young American soldier noticed her hand moving slightly among a number of dead bodies. I was victimized, but I am not a victim.” On Wednesday 8 May, IMD was honored to host a truly inspiring woman, Dr Edith Eva Eger, who addressed the school’s community with lessons drawn from her journey from one of the most traumatic events in modern history to an extraordinary life and work spreading a message of … Some people will wait until September, says latest schedule, Man who ‘frogmarched’ teenager to Garda station charged with assault, Uninsured driver on school run displayed Spar receipt as disc, Gardaí investigating after ‘inappropriate’ men got into online class for school children, Disqualified dangerous driver who crashed into elderly couple and caused ‘life-long episode of pain and loss’ jailed, Ralph Lauren drop golfer Justin Thomas following homophobic slur in Hawaii, 'They wouldn't have fulfilled their potential' - Anthony Brennan determined family affair can help Sligo believe. When someone dies, celebrate every moment you had with them rather than thinking “I lost that person.” No, you were gifted with that person. 15. Mothers worry too much, not realizing that at least 85% of worry never happens. The Sugar Jar Podcast with Yasmine Cheyenne. Franz Suchomel, a Nazi commander, later called Auschwitz "a factory of death". Be a compassionate listener and keep their feelings company. In the town where Edith was born (Kosice, a part of modern-day Slovakia), anti-Jewish sentiment was already rife. She closed her eyes and transported herself to the opera house in Budapest, dancing Romeo and Juliet. As prisoners arrived, youn… Coming Clean Podcast with Peter O. Estévez. It's that sort of act of imagination and will that she credits with helping her survive. Making The Choice With Dr. Edith Eva Eger. She then pursued her doctoral internship at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss, Texas. What kind of life was that for them? She married Béla (Albert) Eger, whom she met in the hospital. "​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​, The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life: by Edith Eger is published by Random House. Then picture yourself as you are now. Forgiveness isn't something I give to the Nazis, it's a gift I give to myself, to say I won't be a hostage or a prisoner to the past. Instead you say, “up until now” or “in the past.”. Dr Edith Eger is a Holocaust survivor, psychologist and expert in the treatment of post-traumatic stress but above all, she’s an incredible human being with an extraordinary story to share. “No one can take away from you what you’ve put in your mind.”, “I created a world that gave me some comfort in my soul. Eger’s new book, “The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life,” offers wisdom on resilience, grief and finding hope in the darkest times. Edith Eger was just sixteen when the Nazis came to her hometown of Hungry and took the Jewish family to an interment centre and then to Auschwitz. This extremely strong woman belongs to the small number of survivors who credibly testifies of horrors and monstrosity in concentration camps. That's what happens. In December 1944 Edith was standing in line to be tattooed when the guard told her that they were not going to "waste the ink" on her because she was being sent to the gas chamber. It is painful to remember.". "I came to America and I wanted to be a Yankee doodle dandy, kind of an imposter. Dr Edith Eva Eger is an eminent psychologist whose own experiences as a Holocaust survivor helps her treat patients and allows them to escape the prisons of their own minds. Dr. Edith Eva Eger, photographed in her La Jolla home, August 13, 2019, in San Diego, California. Albert and So instead I ask how can I be useful. "There was a lot anti-semitism, then as now. That’s just a role that you play. The Nazi guards were prisoners too. Don’t dwell on what you could have done or should have done. Eger credits her survival to her mother’s parting words of advice on a filthy cattle truck bound for Auschwitz. Families are very sick if they have secrets. "You would think that living in the fear of being killed, it would be every man for himself," Edith says. Compulsive habits often go back to childhood and the need to medicate our psychological wounds. 12. In May 1944, 16-year-old Edith Eger stepped out of a filthy cattle wagon onto a platform filled with Nazi guards, prisoners in striped uniforms and snarling dogs. Her parents were killed in … “We all have a story, but I refuse to be my story. Children will not do what you say, they will do what they see. Those not sent immediately to their death were destined to be victims of a policy known as Vernichtung durch Arbeit (extermination through work). But every day I was told I would never get out of there alive, that the only way that I was leaving was as a corpse. By then she was too weak to walk. By Edith Eger The Choice A true story of hope Paperback - 16 Aug. 2018 [Edith Eger] on Amazon.com. Though Eger refused to speak of her past to her three children, her 10-year-old daughter Marianne found a history book with pictures of the skeletal corpses piled in a heap. I was not a victim. "It helped me find a way to look for the gift in everything," she explains. He called medical help and she was brought back from the brink of death. I was hungry, alone, sick and scared and I felt so honoured that someone was even looking at me. If I complain to you that I hurt my thumb, and you say, “Oh, honey, I just saw a person that doesn’t have an arm,” then I’m going to feel guilty for feeling the way I do. But we can choose how we respond to it.". Then you won’t have sex. The strongest tried to batter the doors or climb the walls toward the opening in the ceilings. But my sister comforted me. 6. "It was my daughter who taught me how to speak English. She witnessed unspeakable horrors, including the sight of a young boy being used for target practice and a woman in labor with her legs bound shut. 17. The Nazis made the women ride on top of the train, thinking it would prevent the British from firing at the train, but the British fired anyway. Within seconds of our meeting, Dr Edith Eger has taken my hand and is giving me a whirlwind tour of her seaside home in […] They take away your happiness. They sent us to take showers and I didn't know if water or gas was going to come out of the nozzle.". Now 90, Edith Eger tells Lina Das how her indomitable spirit kept her alive. We grieve not what happened but what didn't happen.". Eger will celebrate her 93rd birthday next week. If you work, have children, a relationship and friends, volunteer, exercise and care for an ageing parent or someone with special needs, how do you structure your time so you don't neglect yourself? I'm going to take care of you. Edith Eva Eger was a teenager in 1944 when she experienced one of the worst evils the human race has ever known. Soon the anti-semitic laws of Hungary were imposed on the conquered territories. Before we left Hungary, my boyfriend told me that I had beautiful eyes and hair. “Good to see you,” “I missed you.” And then you have good sex. "My goal was to become a kind of midwife so that people could be the best parents to themselves. Although she’s 91 now, Edith Eger has the eyes of someone young and full of life. "Of course justice is important and there were people like [Austrian Nazi- hunter] Simon Wiesenthal who were deeply committed to getting it. Get the best news, information and inspiration from TODAY, all day long. Albert joined his brother in Baltimore and continued his education, later becoming a CPA. I have PTSD. I was called a Christ killer. Like all workers at Birkenau, Edith was given meagre rations of food and quickly lost weight. Give yourself time to feel th... e feelings.~ "Dr Edith Eva Eger, best-selling author was just 16 years old when she experienced one of the worst evils the human race has ever known. I had so much survivor's guilt about this moment. It’s easy to picture the 16-year-old girl she was on her first night in Auschwitz, in May 1944, when she came face-to-face with Dr. Josef Mengele for the first time. Don’t suppress feelings because then you’ll get headaches and tummy aches. 5. Menu Most were killed immediately on arrival by being herded in large rooms which had openings in the ceilings through which Zyklon B - a deadly pesticide - pellets were dropped by Nazi guards. "My father was sitting with other guys and I remember just begging him to shave because somehow just instinctively I knew it would be important that he looked younger and stronger. Edith Eva Eger survived the Holocaust, became an eminent psychologist and PTSD expert, and might be my favorite MarieTV guest of all time. Love is a four letter word, spelled T-I-M-E. Now she has written a new book called The Gift, which she says contains more practical wisdom. Be a good role model. (Howard Lipin/The San Diego Union-Tribune) At age 90 … 7. 10. This week, we are deeply privileged to learn from Dr. Edith Eger – a psychologist, author, and one of the few remaining Holocaust survivors old enough to remember life in the camps.