Title: Norwegian Holocaust Survivor and Author, Maria "Mitzi" Gabrielsen, Dies at 91
One of the last Norwegian Jews to survive the Holocaust, Maria "Mitzi" Gabrielsen, has passed away. Gabrielsen, who was 91, died suddenly on Saturday, January 4, her family confirmed to NTB.
Gabrielsen was in the process of planning a trip with the Norwegian delegation to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, but she will not be joining them. She was born in Vienna on January 3, 1934, to a Jewish father and a non-Jewish German mother.
When World War II broke out, Gabrielsen’s mother fell in love with an SS officer and betrayed her own family to the Gestapo. Her father was sent to Auschwitz and died in the gas chambers, while her siblings were sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Remarkably, Gabrielsen and her siblings all survived.
In 1947, at the age of 13, Gabrielsen and two of her siblings were allowed to go on a three-month summer holiday to Norway, where she stayed with a foster family in Elverum. She eventually settled in Norway and married Asbjørn Gabrielsen in 1954. They lived in Sandefjord.
It was not until 2004 that Gabrielsen began to share her deeply traumatic experiences, which were chronicled in the book "Betrayed by Mom," written with Norwegian author Oddvar Schjølberg. She started traveling as a Holocaust educator shortly after.
Gabrielsen was an active woman until her last days, frequently visiting schools and various organizations to share her story and experiences. Sadly, she has shared her story for the last time.
NTB.
