The tale begins with Marion saying that her story could have been the same as Anne Frank's. This may have been is true had Otto Frank have made some better choices.
Anyway, I should have guessed that Marion had been in one of the "better" Concentration Camps when she said she was 10 years old at Liberation. Indeed, she was at Bergen-Belsen. "Better" is, of course, relative. Bergen-Belsen did not have gas chambers (I'll get into this more later on). and people died from typhus and dysentery due to the poor conditions. Marion escaped the sure death by selection she would have faced if she had gone to Auschwitz as she was under 16. Moreover, she was not sent to an Operation Reinhard Camp (Chelmno, Majdanek, Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka) where there were no selections, just certain extermination. Additionally, Marion was not one of the children who underwent medical experiments in Auschwitz. Moreover, Marion did not have to perform slave labour,
In fact, Marion was one of the ones who was to be traded for German soldiers. This meant that her treatment was much better than the vast majority of Concentration Camp prisoners. Although, Marion could not escape the disease which plagued even the best camps. In a sad turn, Her father ended up dying from Typhus after liberation.
If one is familiar with Holocaust deniers, one knows that they point out that the Camps were not for extermination: there were no gas chambers and people died of diseases. Marion did not see the extent of the Nazi crimes and is fortunate not to have run into a holocaust denier. I shudder to think of what would happen if she did.
So, as I point out, "Luck" is relative, as is "better". While no one should undergo the horrors which Marion did, She fared far better than Anne Frank who was also at Bergen-Belsen. Anne did undergo the selections at Auschwitz and was "fortunate" enough to be old enough to avoid the gas chambers. Anne, however, succumbed to her typhus at Bergen-Belsen because she was on the other side where the prisoners who were not going to be traded were housed.
Many people died due to the diseases cause by poor conditions at Bergen-Belsen, enough that the camp was ordered to be destroyed to prevent the spread of typhus.
Marion tells stories which could have had tragic endings, but did not. In particular, where her father asked an SS guard why they were not called to be sent to better conditions. The guard could have shot, and in many other camps would have shot, Marion's father for such a thing. Instead, Marion's father only received verbal abuse.
On the other hand, there were many millions more who died in extermination camps. There are also survivors who have more horrific stories than Marion does. Many of these stories may never be told, let alone believed if they are told. Realise this as you watch this film.
