Love, Resistance, and Revolt: Mala Zimetbaum at Auschwitz-Birkenau
Hearts at War: Love in World War II [collection]
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19m
After the turning point at Stalingrad in 1943, the Red Army began pushing west — but inside Auschwitz-Birkenau, the machinery of death continued. Among the deportees from Belgium was Mala Zimetbaum, a brilliant young Jewish woman fluent in six languages.
Assigned as a translator and runner in the women’s camp, Mala used her position to secretly help prisoners — warning them of selections, arranging lighter work, smuggling messages, and saving lives. In 1944, together with Polish prisoner Edward “Edek” Galiński, she carried out one of the most daring escape attempts in Auschwitz history.
Captured after two weeks of freedom, Mala faced public execution — but even in her final moments, she defied the SS and encouraged fellow prisoners to remain strong.
Her story is one of love, courage, and resistance in the darkest place in Europe.
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