When Hella Drizen arrived at Auschwitz, she was forced to remove her clothes and stand before Mengele, who decided whether she should work or be cremated.
Though she was spared at that point, she faced another horror with the physician some months later. She was in a tub taking a rare bath in a couple of inches of water, when suddenly the tub filled with water and Mengele showed up. She knew that when extra water was given, it was in variably a precursor to being taken to the gas chamber.
Yet she smiled at Mengele, and said, "Thank God, you've come here. I'm glad because it is the first time I've gotten enough water for a decent bath." He smiled in return, admiring her guts, and said, "You're very lucky."
Farmington Daily Times (NM), Friday, May 3, 1985, p.A7.
