Cilka, Celcelia Klein

Cilka, the main character of this novel, is based on a historical person, Cecelia Klein. Cilka was born in Bardejov, Czechoslovakia in March 17, 1926. In 1942, Nazis began deportation of Jews from the Slovakian region where the Kleins lived. At the age of sixteen, Cilka, along with her mother, father and sisters (there were two; Morris fictionalizes only one, Magda, in the story) were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Cilka entered on April 23, 1942 and was given prisoner number 5907. She is the only member of her family to survive. When the Russian forces liberated Auschwitz in 1945, Cilka is considered a collaborator for her role in the camp. Chosen for her beauty, Cilka is subjected to repeated rapes by the commanders of the concentration camp, though the Russians consider it prostitution. Her other role was serving as Block 25 leader. Block 25 was the building Nazis sent women prisoners the night before...