A 102-year-old Holocaust survivor graces the cover of Vogue Germany
Vogue Germany magazine is paying homage to a 102-year-old survivor of the Holocaust and human rights hero.
Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of American Vogue, commended the U.S. magazine's German counterpart for featuring Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer, one of the world's oldest and best-known survivors, on the front cover of its July/August edition.
"Margot Friedländer is a wonderful subject, and a meaningful one," Ms. Wintour told The New York Times, calling the rare move a "brilliant and inspiring" choice, "given the political currents across Europe."
The human rights advocate, who has traveled the world to raise awareness for the Holocaust remembrance, told Vogue Germany she was "horrified" by the rise of anti-Semitic groups in Germany and around the world.
Who is Margot Friedländer?
According to Friedländer's bio on the website of Berlin's Jewish Museum, she was born in Berlin in 1921 and spent the early part of the war with her mother and younger brother after her parents had separated. The family was planning to flee the country but in 1943, Friedländer's brother was arrested by the Gestapo.
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To save her son, Friedländer's mother confronted the Gestapo and it led her to be deported to Auschwitz with her son, where the two were murdered.
Per her bio, her mother had left behind a message for her that read: "Try to make your life."
In the interview with Vogue Germany, Friedländer said: "I am grateful. Grateful that I made it. For being able to fulfill my mother’s wish. That I have made my life."
Margot Friedländer's advice to young people on Israel-Hamas war
In the piece, she offered advice for young people who feel passionate and conflicted about the Israel-Hamas war, advocating for people to not take sides.
"Don't look at the things that separate you," she told Vogue Germany. "Think of the things that bind you, that bring you together."
Friedländer has also founded the Margot Friedländer Foundation, which shares stories of the Holocaust with young people to prevent a similar situation from happening again.
She told Vogue she founded the organization because "you young people are here. You have a future that others didn't have."