Marga Spiegel

Marga Spiegel in November 2009.

Marga Spiegel (21 June 1912 – 11 March 2014) was a German writer. She was Jewish and survived the Holocaust of World War II. Her story was published into a book in 1969 and a movie, Unter Bauern – Retter in der Nacht, released in 2009. She was born in Oberaula, Hesse.

Biography

Before the mass capture and deportation of Jews began Marga's husband, Seigmund Spiegel, a horse handler in north Germany and an Iron Cross-awardee during World War I, convinced a friend to shelter his wife and daughter on his farm. Marga and her daughter, Karin, were hidden in plain sight, using assumed names. Seigmund was too well-known to use this strategem, and was instead hidden in the attics of near-by farms, able to get a glimpse of his daughter only once during their years in hiding.

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Book

Spiegel wrote her most famous book, Saviors in the Night in 1960. Unlike other books about the Holocaust, it told about German citizens who saved Spiegel from the concentration camps. Although Spiegel's book became a best-seller, the story was not made into a film until decades later.^[1] Spiegel died from natural causes on 11 March 2014 in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. She was 101 years old.^[2]

Marga Spiegel in 2009.

References

1. Stein, Ruthe. "Marga Spiegel's memoir inspires film". Hearst Communications, Inc. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
2. "Marga Spiegel ist tot" (in German). Bilde. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.

Other websites

• Marga Spiegel at the Internet Movie Database