Trudi Birger (24 April 1927 – 24 April 2002) was a German-born, Israeli-nationalized writer, biologist, and

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

. After the war Birger migrated to Israel, where she founded the Dental Volunteers for Israel clinic and published the book ''A Daughter’s Gift of Love'', detailing her experiences during

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

Biography

Birger grew up in Frankfurt, Germany, and she and her family went into hiding with the

rise of Nazism The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported th ...

when she was seven. They moved to Memel, East Prussia, in 1934. They were living in the Kovno Ghetto when she and her family were rounded up by the Nazis in 1944 and sent to the

Stutthof concentration camp Stutthof was a Nazi concentration camp established by Nazi Germany in a secluded, marshy, and wooded area near the village of Stutthof (now Sztutowo) 34 km (21 mi) east of the city of Danzig ( Gdańsk) in the territory of the Germa ...

. She survived the war, marrying and immigrating to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

with her family afterwards. In the 1960s, she became a microbiologist. She worked with children suffering from dental problems similar to those that she herself had suffered in the concentration camp after a Nazi guard knocked her teeth out. In 1980, Birger founded the Dental Volunteers for Israel, a non-profit clinic in the Jerusalem neighborhood of

Mekor Chaim Mekor Chaim (also Makor Haim, he, מקור חיים, ''lit.'' Source of life) is a neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem. It was named for Haim Cohen, a wealthy Jewish businessman who donated large sums of money toward the purchase of land in Jerus ...

, offering free treatment for needy children. She kept the dental clinic open for over two decades, fundraising from private contributions. In 1981 she was recognized with the Presidential Volunteer Award. In 1991 she was declared as a " Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem". In 1992 she published the book ''A Daughter’s Gift of Love'', detailing her experience during

. In 2000 Birger was named as a Dental Fraternity Alpha Omega International honorary member.

Personal life

She was married to

Zev Birger Zev Birger ( he, זאב בירגר; June 1, 1926 – June 6, 2011) was a founder of the Sons of Zion Organization that worked to preserve Hebrew culture and language during World War II. He was also active in Aliyah Bet (illegal immigration organi ...

, a Holocaust survivor from the

Dachau concentration camp Dachau () was the first concentration camp built by Nazi Germany, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents which consisted of: communists, social democrats, and other dissidents. It is ...

. He directed and presided over the Jerusalem International Book Fair for several years. They had three sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birger, Trudi 1927 births 2002 deaths Jewish concentration camp survivors 19th-century German Jews German memoirists German emigrants to Israel 20th-century German women writers 20th-century Israeli women writers 20th-century memoirists Israeli microbiologists