Woman who survived Auschwitz when gas ran out is about to turn 101

Klara Marcus was a 30-year-old Auschwitz prisoner in 1944 when she was forced to strip naked and march into the gas chamber — only there was no more gas left.

“God was watching over me that day,” said Marcus, who is about to celebrate her 101st birthday, the Central European News reported.

“I was chosen towards the end of the day with a large group of other women and we were made ready for the gas chamber,” said Marcus, of Sighetu Marmatiej in northern Romania.
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“But when they put us inside and went to turn the gas on, they found they had run out,” she said. “One of the guards joked that it was our lucky day because they had already killed so many, they didn’t have any gas left for us.”

She then managed to escape from the infamous Nazi death camp in southern Poland, where more than a million people were killed.

“After I got free, I managed to make my way back to my home to look for my family,” said Marcus — but she discovered that they had gone.

Anton Rohian, a government representative, turned up at her home to mark her Jan. 1 birthday.

“I brought you a bunch of flowers, a bottle of champagne and an excellency diploma to thank you because you’ve returned to Maramures after all you’ve been through,” Rohian said, referring to her county.

“It’s important not to forget what happened in the past,” he said.

Kissing the Romanian flag, Marcus said: “I’ve had terrible experiences in my life, but this is a wonderful moment.”

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