Holocaust Survivors’ Remarkable Story of Survival and Resilience

May 2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe and the liberation of the last Nazi concentration camps. This story focuses on three young women who were pregnant when they were deported to Auschwitz in 1944. Their tale is a remarkable account of survival, deception, and resilience.

In 1944, these women were sent to Auschwitz, a notorious death camp. Pregnancies were punishable by death, but they managed to conceal their conditions. Their babies, born just before Germany’s surrender in May 1945, survived against all odds and were 80 years old when first interviewed last year.

Lesley Stahl interviewed Mark Olsky, Hana Berger-Moran, and Eva Clarke, among the youngest Holocaust survivors. These survivors recall their mothers’ harrowing experiences during the war. Before the war, Eva’s mother Anka was a champion swimmer in Czechoslovakia, Mark’s mother Rachel was from Poland, and Hana’s mother Priska hailed from a small town in Czechoslovakia where her parents ran a café.

In 1944, the women were deported to Auschwitz, where they claimed not to be pregnant to avoid punishment. They were sent to a labor camp in Freiberg, Germany, where they hid their pregnancies. Nazi forces planned to liquidate the camp as the Allies advanced in early 1945.

Hana’s mother gave birth on the factory floor. Soon after, the laborers and newborn Hana were loaded onto a train bound for Mauthausen. This journey was fraught with peril, including a glass of milk from a passing farmer that may have saved Eva’s mother’s life.

Upon arrival at Mauthausen, Eva’s mother went into labor. The Nazis had run out of gas for the chambers just days before, allowing them to survive. The sincere question of survival persisted, with liberation only days away.

In the ensuing liberation, led by a small unit of the U.S. 11th Armored Division, the story of the babies and their mothers continued. A medic named Leroy “Pete” Petersohn treated newborn Hana’s infections, ensuring her survival. Remarkably, Pete Petersohn wondered about Hana’s fate for decades.

Post-war, Mark, Eva, and Hana grew up as only children, learning about the war’s impact from their mothers. Each woman remarried, but no other children were born. It wasn’t until later in life that these Holocaust survivors discovered each other’s existence.

Hana met the medic, Petersohn, who saved her life. She later discovered Eva’s story from an 11th Armored Division newsletter, leading to a reunion of the three survivors. Their remarkable bond formed over shared experiences and the discovery of their intertwined histories.

In May 2010, Mark, Eva, and Hana finally met, weaving together their shared stories and embracing each other as siblings. Despite the atrocities they faced early in life, their resilience and survival are lasting testimonies to their strength and the enduring impacts of their mothers’ love.

Today, they celebrate their lives and legacies, remembering their mothers, who lived long lives after surviving the Holocaust. Their story is a powerful testament to the human spirit’s capacity for endurance and triumph.