Youngest Survivors: 60 Minutes Reports On Babies Born In Nazi Concentration Camps

Through personal interviews, historical context, and rare survivor testimony, the report reflects on endurance, chance, and the long shadow of one of history’s most devastating periods.

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Birth in the Harshest Conditions

During the final months of World War II, pregnant prisoners in Nazi camps faced almost certain death if their condition was discovered. The regime viewed children born to Jewish and other persecuted women as undesirable, and pregnancy was often punishable by execution or forced abortion.

The segment tells the story of three women who managed to hide their pregnancies while enduring starvation, forced labor, disease, and constant fear. Each gave birth in secrecy, without medical care, proper shelter, or basic supplies. Their survival, and that of their infants, depended on extraordinary courage, quiet acts of assistance from fellow prisoners, and moments of improbable luck.

The babies born under these circumstances are now 80 years old. Stahl meets them as they reflect on lives that began in secrecy and danger, shaped by the resilience of mothers who risked everything to protect them.

Liberation and a Life-Saving Encounter

One of the most dramatic elements of the story involves the liberation of the camps by Allied forces. As American troops entered the concentration camps in 1945, they encountered scenes of devastation and unimaginable human suffering.

Among those present was an American medic who discovered one of the newborn survivors and played a critical role in saving the infant’s life. The segment explores how military medical personnel worked quickly to treat starvation, illness, and severe trauma among survivors, often improvising care under difficult conditions.

Decades later, the connection between the medic and the child he helped rescue became an important part of the survivor’s personal history, illustrating the lasting impact of those first moments of freedom and recovery.

Finding Each Other Decades Later

For most of their lives, the three survivors grew up unaware that others shared such a rare and unusual beginning. Each built a life in the postwar world, carrying the legacy of their mothers’ experiences and the trauma that shaped their families.

The report details how, more than six decades later, a series of coincidences and research efforts brought the three individuals together. Their eventual meeting revealed striking similarities in their origins and offered a powerful sense of connection rooted in survival against overwhelming odds.

Their reunion underscores the role of historical memory, survivor networks, and archival research in preserving individual stories that might otherwise have been lost to time.

Remembering the Holocaust Through Personal Stories

Eighty years after the war, the number of living Holocaust survivors continues to decline, increasing the urgency of documenting firsthand accounts. Stahl’s report places the story of the three survivors within the broader effort to preserve testimony for future generations.

Personal narratives such as these offer a deeply human perspective on historical events that can otherwise feel distant or abstract. By focusing on birth, survival, and reunion, the segment highlights both the brutality of the camps and the resilience that allowed some families to endure.

Produced by Shari Finkelstein, “Youngest Survivors” combines historical reporting with intimate storytelling. The segment serves as both a remembrance of the millions who were lost and a tribute to the extraordinary lives that began under the most unimaginable circumstances.

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• Youngest Survivors: 60 Minutes Reports On Babies Born In Nazi Concentration Camps

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