By Rachel Metalin, FSWC Manager Professional Learning

March is International Women’s Month, a time to honor the resilience and contributions of women throughout history. Among them is Dr. Gisela Perl, a Holocaust survivor whose bravery and medical expertise saved countless lives in Auschwitz, the largest and most notorious of the Nazi death camps.

Born in 1907 in Máramarossziget, Hungary (now Sighet, Romania), Dr. Perl was a talented physician specializing in gynecology. In 1944, she and her family were deported to Auschwitz, where she was separated from her husband and son, both of whom were killed there. Upon arrival, Dr. Perl was assigned to work under the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele. In this role, she secretly used her medical knowledge to protect female prisoners from his cruel experiments.

One of Dr. Perl’s most heartbreaking yet heroic acts was performing secret abortions in the unsanitary barracks of Birkenau. Pregnant women were often sent to their deaths, so she made the impossible decision to terminate pregnancies to give mothers a chance to live. With no medical tools, she operated in unimaginable conditions, relying on instinct and courage.

After surviving the Holocaust, Dr. Perl dedicated her life to healing others. She moved to the United States and became a leading gynecologist, specializing in infertility and high-risk pregnancies. She also wrote her memoir, I Was a Doctor in Auschwitz, to bear witness to the horrors she endured. Happily, in 1979, Perl discovered her daughter, whom she hid during the war, was living in Israel and moved there to join her.

Through her work, Dr. Perl turned immense suffering into a legacy of compassion. Her story teaches us about moral courage, resilience and the profound impact of women in medicine and human rights.

To learn more about Dr. Perl’s life, explore:

The Doctor who couldn't do No Harm

I was a Doctor in Auschwitz