1. One has to have faith, and a particular reason to endure. My reason was: to meet my husband after the war. I vowed not to give in to the German murderers. To me that would have been a betrayal of the highest order.

2. I had to live so as to become a witness, to be able to tell the story of German brutality. I believed in my innocence, and that the guilty would be punished in the end.

3. I didn't want to give in to the temptation to die in the camp, because there were also interned there younger members of my family, whom I tried to protect or help within my limited means. One of my twelve-year-old nieces just wouldn't listen to my warnings, and she left Auschwitz--only to return with an amputated foot.

4. I believe that each of us has to fulfill a contract. There must be a reason for my survival.