Mala And Edek, A Tragic Love Story

The tragedy of Mala and Edek is a love story that developed and became eternal in one of the most terrible places on earth: the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Their lives were practically forgotten until the journalist Francesca Paci decided to write about them, the book Lovers in Auschwitz.

Mala and Edek were still young when they ended up separately in a concentration camp. They had to grow up fast in the harsh environment.

However, they did not grow old together as they once dreamed. Yet they became an example of how love is stronger than any cruelty. That this feeling gives value to everything.

Someone who met Mala and Edek told their story in the concentration camp. Their love inspired both men and women, despite the cruel circumstances in which they found themselves. As you can see, true love can change the lives of those around them.

Mala and Edek, two prisoners

The main characters in this story are Mala Zimetbaum and Edward Galiński, called “Edek”. He came to the Auschwitz concentration camp when he was only 16 years old, before Mala. He was a young Polish man who was still in high school. The Nazis arrested him during a raid and sent him to Tarnów Prison.

A few months later, in June 1940, he ended up in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Edek arrived with the first group of prisoners and soon learned to adapt. His mantra was: “Who and what you must avoid and what you must hold on to in order to survive. ”

After being in the concentration camp for two years , he persuaded the officers to open a locksmith workshop.

His initiative and dynamism in this project gave him some sympathy among those responsible. Thus he had a privileged position. He took advantage of this to take the weakest prisoners to the workshop, especially those who could not withstand extreme physical exertion.

Mala and Edek fall in love with Auschwitz

Mala Zimetbaum was from Poland but moved to Belgium at a young age. She excelled as a student, mainly in language and math. The Nazis arrested her in Antwerp in 1942 and deported her to a concentration camp. They assigned her the job of translator and messenger from the beginning because she spoke five languages ​​fluently.

Mala had a privileged position, just like Edek, so she used it to help people in need. Then, during one of his assignments, they met with a group of installers in the Birkenau field.

It was love at first sight. They started meeting secretly when they could and everyone in the camp referred to them as “Romeo and Juliet”.

Love also created a deep desire to be free. They were aware that the world did not know what was going on in the concentration camps. Thus, together they began to hatch the idea of ​​running away to report on the situation.

Of course, they also wanted to be together forever. Thus, they began to work on a plan that seemed impossible, and perhaps that was why it worked.

A tragic end

The plan to escape included Edek wearing a uniform from the SS officer. He was to go to the end of the camp and meet Mala in this disguise.

When it came to Mala, she had to disguise herself as a man and cover her head to hide her hair. The plan was to pretend that an officer only led an inmate to install a sink.

Once at the front door, both had to show some exit passes they had. It may be hard to believe, but they actually managed this on June 24, 1944. Thus, they were free and almost reached the Polish border. When Mala went to a store and tried to exchange a ring for something to eat, it aroused suspicion among the employees. They alerted the police.

The police stopped Mala while Edek saw her from a distance. Since the two had promised to be together forever, he surrendered voluntarily to the Nazis.

The end

Police took them to a punitive area in Auschwitz. They locked them inside separate cells. Still, they managed to send each other messages on small sheets of paper. Edek also sang Italian arias for her from his cell.

Edek was to die by hanging. He tried to do it himself, but did not succeed. Before he died, he shouted, “Long live Poland!”

Mala cut the carotid artery before the execution, and was also sentenced to death by hanging. Then they sentenced her to burn alive. However, the guards sympathized with her and allowed her to bleed to death before reaching the crematorium. Mala and Edek died the same day, just an hour apart.