Maria Krehbiel-Darmstädter (1892–1943), who was killed at Auschwitz, was a highly gifted pupil of Rudolf Steiner and a member of the Christian Community. Born into a Jewish family in Mannheim, she was deported to Gurs camp in the Pyrénées in October 1940, where she survived harsh conditions and helped many of her fellow inmates. This book offers unique testimony of an individual rooted in esoteric Christianity, who found sources of inner resistance during one of history’s darkest periods. As the portrait of a highly ethical and sorely tried woman amid catastrophic conditions, it describes her existential efforts to summon powers of concentration, meditation and dedication to others, showing how these continued to inform her outlook and actions to the very end.

From Gurs to Auschwitz adds an important voice to literature on the Holocaust and shines a light on the nature of spiritual, inner resistance during the dark years of World War II in Europe.

October 2013; Trans. M. Barton; SB; 376pp; 23 x 15 cm; pb;