Survivor Moms: Anka, Rachel, and Their Courageous Journey

Witness the inspiring journey of three remarkable mothers, Priska, Rachel, and Anka, who faced unimaginable tragedy in the camps during the Nazi regime. Despite losing their husbands to the Nazis, they refused to let evil take their unborn children as well. Their story, reminiscent of "The Lost" and "The Nazi Officer's Wife," is a testament to the strength of the human spirit. "Born Survivors" chronicles these brave women who defied death to give their children a new day.

In war-torn Eastern Europe in 1944, three women find themselves believing they are expecting babies, only to be cruelly torn from their husbands before they can confirm. Rachel is sent to Auschwitz, unaware of her husband's tragic fate. Priska and her spouse embark on the journey together, only to be cruelly separated upon arrival. Meanwhile, Anka clings to hope in vain of being reunited with her husband in the camp. With their families lost to the gas chambers, these young mothers are determined to cling to the only things they have left - their lives and the lives of their unborn children. Concealing their pregnancies from the notorious Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, they endure back-breaking work and near-starvation, living in constant fear of the SS discovering their secret.

In April 1945, as the Allies closed in, Priska, along with Anka and Rachel, among others, faced a harrowing journey to Mauthausen concentration camp. Amid the despair, Rachel gave birth on the train, and Anka at the camp gates. Despite the looming threat of death, a twist of fate occurred as the Zyklon-B gas ran out, prompting the SS to flee with the Allied troops drawing near. Against all odds, these three courageous mothers and their newborns survived the perilous path to freedom.

On the seventieth anniversary of Mauthausen’s liberation from the Nazis by American troopers, famend biographer Wendy Holden recounts this extraordinary story of three youngsters united by their moms’ unbelievable—but in the end profitable—battle for survival.