In 1944, Hungarian-born Edith Eger and her family were forced onto a train headed to the infamous Auschwitz. Her mother and father were sent to the left, while Eger and her sister were sent to the right. Being sent to the right meant keeping their lives, which Eger has been thankful for every day.

Along with the other prisoners, Eger was forced to march to a labor camp in Austria. Anyone that stopped marching was shot on sight. Sticking together was the only way to survive. When Eger felt the need to rest, the brave women she was with formed a chair with their arms and carried her until she felt she could go on.

People that were there for me never made it,” Eger said.

Historically, it is known that the Nazis started to close down their prisoner camps after the opposition began closing in. The prisoners were led out, executed and left in mass graves. Eger was among presumed dead and left to die in one of those mass graves.

On May 4, 1945, a young American soldier from the 71st Infantry noticed her hand move among a group of deceased prisoners. The soldier called over a medic and pulled Eger from what would have been her grave.

However, Eger has never seen herself as a helpless victim. Even when things were at their worst.

“In my life, I don’t believe there are problems, only challenges,” said Eger. “Others only have as much power as you let them.”

After her rescue, Eger moved to Czechoslovakia, met the love of her life and later came to America. With less than $10 to her name, she decided that she would no longer be a victim, but a survivor.

Suffering from survivor’s guilt, twenty years passed before Eger spoke about the atrocities she experienced. Eventually she came to realize that she wanted to help others conquer obstacles in life. She believes the only way to do this is through forgiveness.

“To find freedom, we need to forgive,” Eger said. “Forgiveness is very different from revenge. Revenge is temporary. Forgiveness gives you freedom.”

Eger went on to receive a degree in psychology from the University of Texas and then pursued a doctoral internship at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in Fort Bliss, Texas.

Eger now splits her time between speaking all across the U.S. and working at her practice in La Jolla, Calif. Eger has been featured on CNN, a Dutch National Television documentary about the Holocaust, and TEDTalks. She said has absolutely no plans to retire.

“I think she had more energy than all of us […] My goodness, I just hope I have that much of her energy,” Scott Drummond, director of Campus Activities, said.

Drummond attended Eger’s last visit at Central, where she spoke to a packed auditorium. According to Drummond, her last audience consisted of every age group, from middle school to faculty at Central.

Her past speech at Central was inspiring, her main message being that you are not a victim; you are a survivor. You will overcome, and you will succeed.

“I went last time, and she looks fragile, but she is one the strongest people I’ve heard tell her story,” Brittany Moore, senior education major, said.

Come join Dr. Eger on May 13, at 7p.m., to hear her heart wrenching firsthand account of being in Auschwitz, and the inspirational way she took on those challenges. This event will be open to the public, and people of all ages are encouraged to attend.