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.”
Pic shows: Klara Marcus who survived a Nazi gas chamber is preparing to celebrate her 101st birthday. A woman who survived a Nazi gas chamber because it ran out of gas is preparing to celebrate her 101st birthday. Klara Marcus, 100, from the town of Sighetu Marmatiej in the northern Romanian county of Maramures was captured in 1944 and sent to the infamous Nazi death camp Auschwitz in southern Poland. Then aged 30, she was forced to strip naked along with hundreds of other women and marched into the gas chamber. She said: “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. “But when they put us inside and went to turn the gas on, they found they had run out. “One of the guards joked that it was our lucky day because they had already killed so many they didnÄôt have any gas left for us. “God was watching over me that day.” She said that realising she had nothing to lose she had taken her life in her hands and managed to escape before they called for her again. She said: “After I got free I managed to make my way back to my home to look for my family.” It was then that she found that they too had gone and she had to rebuild her life alone. In celebration of her upcoming birthday on January 1st, government representative Anton Rohian turned up at her home. He said: “I brought you a bunch of flowers, a bottle of champagne and an excellency diploma to thank you because youÄôve returned to Maramures after all youÄôve been through. “ItÄôs important not to forget what happened in the past.” Kissing the Romanian flag, Klara said: “IÄôve had terrible experiences in my life, but this is a wonderful moment.” Over one million people were killed in Auschwitz which was liberated by the Red Army in January 1945.
