Magda Hilf

Magda Hilf was born in Czechoslovakia in 1921. After the Nazi occupation in 1944, her family was driven to the nearby ghetto in Satoraljaujhely, Hungary. She was then deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944, where her parents and sister were immediately gassed. Her sister's two children, a 10 year old daughter and an 8 year old son, were also murdered upon their arrival. Magda's 18 year old brother Tibor survived the initial selection but was later killed. From Auschwitz, Magda was taken to Markleberg, close to Leipzig, for slave labour. On April 13, 1945, she was forced onto a death march but managed to escape with four friends. One month later they were liberated by the Soviet Red Army. Magda immigrated to Canada with her husband and daughter in 1953.

Magda, after years of being unable to speak of her painful experiences, now speaks regularly. She posed with small children from a Toronto daycare centre for the DWAC poster which will go to all schools that participate in Reading and Remembrance. Says Magda, "It is difficult to speak to young children about such things, but, speak we must. It is our duty to bear witness to what happened." The two young girls in the poster speak with Magda about the number the Nazis tattooed on the arms of concentration camp inmates.