Inge Auerbacher
Holocaust Survivor and Author
2023
Inge Auerbacher is an author and Holocaust survivor. An American chemist of German origin and Jewish descent, Auerbacher was born a year after the Nazis came to power. Her early life was to be defined by the Nazi regime and its persecution of Jewish people, and Auerbacher and her family suffered deportation to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Of the 15,000 people imprisoned, Inge and her parents were among the 1% that survived, and they emigrated to New York City to begin a new life. After training and working as a chemist for 38 years, Auerbacher decided to share her childhood experience with the world through a series of memoirs. In 1986, Auerbacher published her first book called ‘I Am A Star’, and has since written five further books, including three memoirs about her experiences in Terezin and recovering after the war. Her first book has also been the subject of a play, “The Star on My Heart,” which premiered in Ohio in November 2015. Auerbacher has also won several awards, such as the Doctor of Humane Letters in 2005 from Long Island University, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 1999.
To me, Eradicate Hate was the most important gathering of 2021 for those of us who work on issues related to domestic extremism and organized hate. The Summit uniquely combined a variety of perspectives, including experts, civil society representatives, politicians and policymakers, and the families and loved ones of victims. Eradicate Hate has the important mission of standing against the rising tide of hate and extremism in our society, and it’s an honor to be able to support this mission.
