Leah Shnirer's Mother: "I Believe in Miracles. Twice I Was Sent to the Gas Chambers, and Twice the Gas Ran Out"

Olga Shalmon, mother of actress Leah Shnirer, is a Holocaust survivor who endured the horrors of Dr. Mengele. In an interview with 'La'Isha', she shares her past and says from the depths of her heart: "I believe in miracles because I am myself a miracle that stayed alive," she says. "Twice I was sent to the gas chambers and twice we were taken out because the gas ran out. How can I not believe there are miracles in the world?!".

The 84-year-old Shalmon decided that her mission is to spread the sense of victory and no longer remain in the position of a victim.

"Many memories come back to me in my old age," admits Shalmon, who for the last six months has been living in assisted living in Hod Hasharon with her caregiver.

Olga and her twin sister Věra were born in April 1938 to parents residing in the city of Košice in Czechoslovakia. In 1944, she was taken with her mother, father, and sister to the Birkenau camp, and from there to the Auschwitz extermination camp in Poland. Her father was sent to the gas chambers. The infamous Dr. Mengele waited on the platform for twin children to conduct cruel experiments on, and Olga, her twin sister, and their mother arrived on that transport.

"My mother stepped forward and said we are Zweigel, twins. We weren't identical twins, so they thought she was lying and beat her severely. Mengele said, 'I will find out myself if they are twins,'" Olga recounts.

Olga and Věra were taken to the gas chambers twice, and both times precisely when the gas ran out. "Who knew these were gas chambers?" she says. "They kept saying they would give us a shower. Do you know what it was for me? Like a dream. Nazi soldiers came to me and said, 'Come with us, we'll give you a bath,' and placed a towel and a piece of soap in my hands. My mother and sister were also called to enter with me. When I entered inside, I did not understand what was that smell reaching my nose. Something very suffocating. Suddenly they pushed us inside as much as possible. I asked, where is the shower? Suddenly the door slammed shut. I trembled with fear. I did not know what was next. After some time, the door opened and they shouted at us to get out. They didn't tell us what happened. Certainly not that the gas ran out. I didn't think I was about to die."

Leah Shnirer, who also participated in the interview, commented admiringly: "My mother told my children a story of heroism and not of misery. It's a story of strength. Where did she derive it from? Perhaps from the pain. She quickly realized that if she was strong and showed optimism, she could reach the age of 84 with two great-grandchildren. She instilled those values in me. Breaking is a privilege, and we do not have that privilege."