Edith Eger with her husband, Albert 'Bela' Eger (Facebook/EdithEger)[Missing Credit]
On her first night in the camp, she was forced to dance for Nazi physician Josef Mengele, nicknamed the Angel of Death, who had just sent her mother to the chamber and was known for his brutal human experimentation on inmates.
In May 1945, the sisters were liberated from the Gunskirchen sub-camp in Austria.
While recovering in hospital, Edith met Albert ‘Bela’ Eger and the pair later married and moved to the US, where she became a psychologist, specialising in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Writing years later on her website, Edith explained her career choice, saying: “We lived a ‘normal life’, a happy life, uneventful in its quiet bliss,” she wrote of her childhood in Hungary.
"Then it was slowly, yet suddenly, all taken away, altering the course of my life forever.
“I have helped countless others lead full lives by moving beyond their problems – no matter how insurmountable they believed them to be.
“Though I could have remained a permanent victim – scarred by what was beyond my control, I made the choice to heal.
“Early on, I realised that true freedom can only be found by forgiving, letting go, and moving on so I turned my life around and vigorously pursued a career in psychology.”
She also said that helping people “heal and thrive” was her life’s mission.
Edith Eger with her dog in San Diego, California (Facebook/EdithEger)[Missing Credit]
Later in life, Edith went on to become a successful author, best known for her 2017 book The Choice, a part-memoir, part self-help book which won the National Jewish Book Award.
She and Bela had two children prior to his death in 1993, and their daughter, Marianne, is married to Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Engle.
Her family announced her death on Monday on her Instagram page, writing: “Today our dearest Edie left her earthly body. She passed away with the same grace with which she lived. Like an angel returning home. She left this life under the loving care of her family and a devoted team.”
On news of her death, the Holocaust Educational Trust posted on X that it is “deeply saddened to hear of [her] passing".
