A 102-year-old Holocaust survivor whose family was murdered at Auschwitz is the cover star for the July/August edition of Vogue Germany.
Margot Friedländer, née Bendheim, was born in Berlin in 1921. According to a brief bio on the website of Berlin’s Jewish Museum, Friedländer spent the early part of the war with her mother and younger brother Ralph after her parents separated. They had plans to flee the country but in 1943 her brother was arrested by the Gestapo.
Their mother confronted the Gestapo, which led to her being deported to Auschwitz with her son, where they were both murdered.
But before leaving, she left behind a message for her daughter that read: “Try to make your life.”
Friedländer, then just 21 years old, went into hiding but was ultimately betrayed by “catchers” and was sent to Theresienstadt camp in the then-Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia in 1944, according to the museum.
In her interview with Vogue Germany, Friedländer said: “I am grateful. Grateful that I made it. For being able to fulfill my mother’s wish. That I have made my life.”
Vogue Germany said they’d met with Friedländer four times this year and that the cover pictures were shot in April at the Botanical Garden in Berlin.
Kerstin Weng, head of editorial content at the magazine, said that the theme of the issue was love, featuring their “favorite pieces, favorite people.” The front of the collector’s issue includes the word “love” written by Friedländer, as well as her signature.
The multi-page piece, which includes numerous shots of Friedländer, covers a range of topics, from growing up in Nazi Germany to her commitment as a Holocaust survivor today.
Weng said: “The most positive person I know is on this issue’s cover: Margot Friedländer. To many she is known as a Holocaust survivor. But she not only survived the Nazis, she also overcame betrayal and loss. She would have all reason to be bitter, but remains open-minded and refuses to take sides. She stands up against forgetting and for humanity and togetherness.
“At 102, she seeks to engage with the younger generation and proves that dialogue is still possible.”
‘Carry my story onward’
Friedländer met her future husband, Adolf, while in the Nazi concentration camp, and married him soon after liberation.
The pair emigrated to the US in 1946 and lived in New York for more than six decades. But in 2010, following her husband’s death aged 88, Friedländer moved back to Berlin.
Ever since, she has been campaigning as a Holocaust educator. Her tireless efforts have earnt her numerous awards, including the Federal Cross of Merit First Class.
Friedländer told Vogue Germany that she was “appalled” by the growth of right-wing populism and the rise of antisemitic attacks.
When addressing the issue of society becoming more polarized, she said: “Look not toward what separates us. Look towards what bring us together. Be People. Be sensible.”
Grateful for the opportunity to pass on her message, she said: “You will carry my story onward. That this never comes to happen again.”
Although more than 100 years old, Friedländer is not Vogue’s oldest cover model.
Last year, Vogue Philippines chose a 106-year-old tattoo artist called Apo Whang-Od - also known as Maria Oggay - to feature on the front of its April issue.
