Irene Fogel Weiss: The Girl in the Auschwitz Album

Irene Fogel Weiss was born in 1930 in what is now Ukraine. She grew up in a loving Jewish family until 1944, when Germany occupied Hungary and her family was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. She was just 13 years old.

At Auschwitz, Irene was separated from her 11-year-old sister, Edith, during the selection. Irene was sent to forced labor, while Edith, along with their mother and younger siblings, was murdered shortly after arrival. Irene never saw them again.

Irene survived forced labor, a death march, and liberation. Decades later, she recognized herself in the Auschwitz Album-the only known photographic record of the arrival process at Auschwitz. One photograph captured the heartbreaking moment just after she had been separated from Edith.

For the rest of her life, Irene shared her story to ensure the victims of the Holocaust would never be forgotten.