![Love in the murder factory](https://cdn.magzter.com/1472106876/1708318319/articles/cEBgiDPbW1708328692456/LOVE-IN-THE-MURDER-FACTORY.jpg)
He was 17; she was 25. They fell for each other and met secretly for nearly a year before going their separate ways.
It might, in another decade, have been a sweet but otherwise unremarkable interlude in two young lives, except for the setting.
And the stakes. Already, their survival made them remarkable.
Their trysts took place in a hidden nest made from clothing of the dead, wreathed in smoke and human ash from the buildings known to history as Crematoria IV and V at the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp in German-occupied Poland.
Unlike the camp's other killing machines, these two buildings had not been repurposed, but designed from the beginning with a single purpose in mind.
Having the undressing room, gas chamber and furnace all on the same level created, in the words of historian Laurence Rees, "a kind of conveyor belt of death".
Between 1942 and 1944, freight carriages stopped at Auschwitz, disgorging men, women and children from all over Europe, including Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Bohemia, Moravia, Belgium, Yugoslavia, Italy, and Norway. Their chances of survival were slim - out of 1.3 million arrivals, 1.1 million were murdered, many within hours. Those admitted into the camp who were not subsequently gassed died of disease, malnutrition and overwork. It is estimated that one in six of all Jews murdered in the Holocaust died at Auschwitz.
But some did survive. Among the lucky few were a Slovakian graphic designer, Helen Spitzer (Zippi), and a Polish teenager, David Wisnia: Birkenau prisoners 2286 and 83526.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 24 - March 1, 2024 من New Zealand Listener.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 24 - March 1, 2024 من New Zealand Listener.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
![Spilt milk](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/4ReU38zfL1716983056244/SPILT-MILK.jpg)
Spilt milk
Excess dietary calcium goes into toilets, not bones.
![To the Max](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/oQU8SsWue1716982833911/TO-THE-MAX.jpg)
To the Max
The testosterone and torments of late adolescence are centre stage in this novel about finding your place in life.
![A chemical killer](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/nJhLiCvOD1716981211626/A-CHEMICAL-KILLER.jpg)
A chemical killer
A new book outlines the life of a woman who may well have been New Zealand’s most prolific poisoner. What was it that led police to exhume the body of her husband from its watery grave?
![Creating the WOW factor](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/z5FsDfJ0z1716980507538/CREATING-THE-WOW-FACTOR.jpg)
Creating the WOW factor
Meg Williams, in charge of the biggest festival involving a bunch of people wearing wacky outfits, admits she's not very flamboyant in her own dressing.
![Leaving it all on the park](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/UHsg8L43N1716980165909/LEAVING-IT-ALL-ON-THE-PARK.jpg)
Leaving it all on the park
After cancer treatment, Graeme Downes takes stock of a musical life leading The Verlaines and lecturing future generations of songwriters.
![Wrong message](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/PslS63vR81716979828778/WRONG-MESSAGE.jpg)
Wrong message
A UK journalist who came here to talk about Rwanda’s authoritarian regime found herself the victim of a social media hate campaign.
![Busting a gut](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/0qmHxFduM1716979276816/BUSTING-A-GUT.jpg)
Busting a gut
IBD is escalating, seemingly thanks to the Western lifestyle, and New Zealand has one of the highest rates in the world.
![The point of Peters](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/E506lgYuP1716978771214/THE-POINT-OF-PETERS.jpg)
The point of Peters
There's been much to admire about the NZ First leader's politics over the years, but where has it got him?
![Don't call us ...](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/ZNvDlPvSS1716978651256/DONT-CALL-US-.jpg)
Don't call us ...
Finland's ingenuity galvanised the rapid global uptake of cellphones, so it's paradoxical the country's latest claim to fame should be the elevation of no-speakies to a new commercial opportunity.
![He is here](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/xbsl_P8KF1716978196509/HE-IS-HERE.jpg)
He is here
In the week my brother died, there was a storm in the universe.