On 22 January Czech-born Holocaust survivor Lydia Tischler spoke at joint Fed My Voice and Yad Vashem UK event to mark the launch of her incredible Fed My Voice book ‘Freud, Hitler and Me’ ahead of #HolocaustMemorialDay.
The crowded room were transfixed as she read an extract from her book, detailing how she volunteered to go to Auschwitz after her mother and sister were transported there, and watching her mother being selected for the gas chambers.
She spoke of the importance of having her sister Rutka with her throughout the war and how proud she was that not one single cartridge from her work in the labour camp of Oederan was used to help the Nazi war effort thanks to the faulty machines.
At 96, and still working as a child psychotherapist, Lydia talked of her groundbreaking training with Anna Freud and the training course she’s proud to have developed in the Czech Republic, thereby helping children in the country of her birth. Lydia is grateful for her sharp mind – something the audience marveled at – and said, “I prefer my legs are weak and my mind is sharp. I can get walking sticks for my legs, not for my mind!”
‘Freud, Hitler and Me’ is available to buy here along with the rest of the My Voice collection: