Mila Page Turns 100! She and Husband Paul Introduced Thomas Kenneally to the story of Oskar Schindler

We join a worldwide community to celebrate the recent 100th birthday of Ludmila Page, a Holocaust survivor who helped bring the story of Oskar Schindler to light together with her late husband Paul (Poldek Pfefferberg). The two of them and more than 1,200 other Jews survived the Holocaust thanks to Schindler.

The story of their survival is one that Mila and Paul often shared. They were running a shop when author Thomas Kenneally visited, and the two of them introduced him their story. They continued to tell him about what happened to them, ultimately inspiring him to write the book Schindler’s Ark. They also followed the development of the book into a screenplay for Schindler’s List, and when director Steven Spielberg was making the movie, Mila and Paul were closely involved.

As he accepted the Best Director Academy Award for Schindler’s List in 1993, Steven thanked Paul from the stage for “carrying the story.” Mila continues to carry the story to people today, and both of them gave testimony to USC Shoah Foundation.

Celebrate Mila’s 100th Birthday with us by logging in to the Visual History Archive Online and find her testimony here!