Edith Eger

The Choice

1. IDEA 1

   A teenage dancer faced Auschwitz

   Eger describes being a young ballet student in Hungary when, at sixteen, she and her family were deported to Auschwitz. Her parents were killed soon after arrival, and she and her sister had to find ways to survive.

2. IDEA 2

   Dancing helped her survive

   Eger recalls being ordered to dance for the camp officer Josef Mengele. She closed her eyes and imagined dancing on a stage, finding an inner space the guards could not reach.

3. IDEA 3

   Inner freedom remained

   Eger argues that even in the camp, she discovered she could choose her inner response. This idea became central to her life and work. She came to see that guards could control her body, but they could not decide what she thought or felt inside.

All 8 ideas from The Choice →