Little Girl in Auschwitz

The No. 1 international bestseller, with a foreword by His Holiness Pope Francis, who made headlines in 2021 when he kissed Lidia's tattoo.The unforgettable, moving true story of the little girl who survived Auschwitz's 'Angel of Death', Dr Mengele. Lidia was just three years old when she arrived in Auschwitz-Birkenau with her mother, a partisan from Belarus. The bewildered little girl was picked out by Dr Josef Mengele for his sadistic experiments and sent to the infamous children’s block where every day was a fight for survival. In eighteen months of hell she came close to death more than once.Her mother, who risked her life to visit Lidia, gave her strength. But when the camp was liberated, her mother was gone, presumed dead. Lidia, by now deeply traumatised, was adopted by a Polish woman. But then, in 1962, she discovered that her birth parents were still alive in the USSR, and Lidia was faced with an agonising choice . . .Lidia’s extraordinary story has touched hearts around the world and she has made it her mission to bear witness to the Holocaust so that the truth may never be forgotten. This is a powerful and ultimately hopeful account by a remarkable woman who refuses to hate those who hurt her. She says, ‘Hate only brings more hate. Love, on the other hand, has the power to redeem.’

Unforgettable

Lidia Maksymowicz has shared her story in the Auschwitz museum, which she visits every year. It was also the focus of a documentary by the Italian Association ‘La Memoria Viva’.Paolo Rodari was the first journalist to interview Lidia Maksymowicz in Rome. He is a Vatican correspondent for the Italian newspaper La Republica and the author of several bestselling books.

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