IF YOU HEARD WHAT JORDAN HEARD

JORDAN SHARES THE STORY OF HIS GRANDMOTHER, EDITH (EDI) EVA EGAR, WHO WAS BORN IN KOSICE, SLOVAKIA, AS THE YOUNGEST OF THREE DAUGHTERS. AS A TEENAGER, THE FIRST SIGNS OF WAR APPEARED WHEN THE GOVERNMENT FORCED JEWS TO WEAR A YELLOW STAR ON THEIR CLOTHING. SOON AFTER, EDITH AND HER FAMILY WERE FORCED FROM THEIR HOME AND SENT TO A BRICK FACTORY, WHERE THEY WERE MADE TO LIVE AND WORK UNDER BRUTAL CONDITIONS. EVENTUALLY, EDITH, HER PARENTS, AND HER SISTERS WERE LOADED INTO CATTLE CARS AND TRANSPORTED FOR DAYS TO AUSCHWITZ. UPON ARRIVAL, THEY WERE IMMEDIATELY SEPARATED, AND EDITH NEVER SAW HER MOTHER OR FATHER AGAIN. SHE ENDURED BEATINGS, STARVATION, PLEURISY, AND TYPHOID AS SHE STRUGGLED TO SURVIVE. AFTER THE WAR ENDED, EDITH AND HER SISTER SPENT TIME RECOVERING IN A GERMAN HOME BEFORE MAKING THEIR WAY BACK TO KOSICE TO SEARCH FOR ANY SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS. THERE, THEY WERE REUNITED WITH THEIR OLDER SISTER AND WERE ABLE TO RETURN TO THE SAME HOUSE THEY HAD BEEN FORCED TO LEAVE. WHILE RECOVERING IN A HOSPITAL, EDITH MET HER FUTURE HUSBAND, BÉLA. THEY HAD THEIR FIRST DAUGHTER IN EUROPE BEFORE IMMIGRATING TO AMERICA, WHERE THEY WELCOMED THEIR SON AND SECOND DAUGHTER. EDITH TAUGHT HERSELF ENGLISH, EARNED HER PHD, AND BEGAN A CAREER AS A PSYCHOLOGIST. SHE RAISED A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY AND DEDICATED THE REST OF HER LIFE TO SHARING HER STORY.

IF YOU HEARD WHAT JORDAN HEARD, YOU WOULD NEVER FORGET.

Jordan Engle Dr. Edith Eger Auschwitz Psychologist Slovakia

Content note: This interview includes discussion of suicidal thoughts in the context of Holocaust survival and recovery. Viewer discretion advised. If you or someone you love is struggling, help is available.