Miriam Steiner was just five years old when Nazi Germany and its Axis partners invaded her native Yugoslavia On This Day in 1941.
“I felt crippled emotionally for a very, very long time." Miriam Steiner was just five years old when Nazi Germany and its Axis partners invaded her native Yugoslavia On This Day in 1941. Eventually, Miriam and her parents were arrested. While her father managed to escape, Miriam and her mother, Zora, were forced onto trains bound for Stara Gradiška, a concentration camp administered by Nazi-allied Croatian authorities. Zora was pushed in another direction as Miriam was forced onto a freight car designated for children. "I start screaming, Mama. Mama. And she turned around, and she saw me, and I saw her. But the next moment, she was gone," Miriam remembered. For four days, Miriam and the other children were trapped in the dark car unaware of their destination. Not knowing that her mother was unable to reach her, Miriam wondered, "Where is my mother? … Why is she not with me?" When the two eventually reunited at the camp, Miriam barely recognized her mother....