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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; a ...
.


Biography

Birger grew up in Frankfurt, Germany, and she and her family went into hiding with the rise of Nazism when she was seven. They moved to Memel, East Prussia, in 1934. They were living in the
Kovno Ghetto The Kovno Ghetto was a ghetto established by Nazi Germany to hold the Lithuanian Jews of Kaunas during the Holocaust. At its peak, the Ghetto held 29,000 people, most of whom were later sent to concentration and extermination camps, or were sho ...
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 German- ...
. 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, 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
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; a ...
. In 2000 Birger was named as a Dental Fraternity Alpha Omega International honorary member.


Personal life

She was married to Zev Birger, a Holocaust survivor from the
Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...
. He directed and presided over the
Jerusalem International Book Fair The Jerusalem International Book Forum (JIBF), previously known as the Jerusalem International Book Fair, is a business fair and literary festival co-founded by Asher Weill in 1963. It takes place in Jerusalem every second year, and hosts the ...
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