Holocaust survivor discovers real birth name decades after being separated from family

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - In 1943, as a teenager, Mary Wygodski was taken from her family and sent to three different concentration camps. They are memories that still haunt her to this day. 

"The first camp when I was separated from my family, I really felt I could not continue living without them," Wygodski said. 

Her family, her dignity and even her actual birth name were all stripped away.  

"Mary's story shows how historical events impact individual human beings and how much loss and trauma there is when we turn against each other," said Ursula Szczepinska, the director of education and research at the Florida Holocaust Museum. 

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When she learned Wygodski didn't know her real name she started digging.

Marry Wygodski discovered her real birth name decades after she was separated from her family. 

"I went through several archival selections online and eventually found a page from a birth register in a Lithuanian archive," Szczepinska said. 

It turns out Mary was actually Mera after her grandmother.  

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"In some way, it's a memorial for her parents. She lost everybody in her immediate family in the holocaust her parents and siblings were murdered," said Szczepinska.

Wygodski said she was stunned they were able to find her birth name after all these years, including the original certificate. 

"This is something which I hope will help many people learn the truth… it was so horrible that it is easy to believe it never happened," she added.