Gisella Perl, M.D.

Gisella Perl, M.D.

Gisella Perl was a Hungarian Jewish gynecologist and Holocaust survivor. Born in Romania, she was deported to Auschwitz during World War II, where she was forced to work as a physician under the Nazis. Despite the horrors Perl faced, she found ways to secretly save the lives of women by performing critical interventions for maternal survival, and to prevent them from being executed by the Nazis.

After the war, Perl emigrated to the United States and continued her medical career, becoming a respected gynecologist in New York. Her experiences during the Holocaust deeply shaped her practice and commitment to the well-being of women throughout her career. In Auschwitz, she operated without anesthesia or proper tools, relying on her skill and courage to make decisions. Her postwar writings and testimony brought attention to the brutal medical conditions in concentration camps. Later, she was invited to work at Mount Sinai Hospital and became a U.S. citizen, dedicating herself to healing and advocacy. Her legacy stands as a testament to resilience, moral clarity, and the unbreakable bond between medicine and humanity.