A 16-year-old’s innocence was cruelly ripped from her when she was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Cilka Klein witnessed death and violence as she was held in the concentration camp during World War Two.
And if this wasn’t torture enough, the teenage virgin was made a sex slave by a commandant.
While this twisted relationship kept the prisoner alive, she was subject to rape and sexual assault on a regular basis.
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When Cilka arrived at Auschwitz in 1942, she went through the same selection process that was forced on a million other Jews.
Upon arrival, goods were seized from prisoners, before they were branded with tattoos and forced to have their hair cut.
It was during this brutal procedure that a commandant spotted the teenager among the crowd.
The Nazi was taken with her beautiful long locks and insisted her head shouldn’t be shaved.
He later decided to make the girl his sex slave, keeping her separate from other Jews that were detained in the hellish camp.
For a decade, Cilka endured despicable cruelty at the hands of Nazi officers.
While she was given more food rations and clothing rations than others Jews at Auschwitz, she was raped and assaulted.
With an incredible amount of courage and grit, the prisoner managed to survive the traumatic ordeal.
After Auschwitz was liberated, Cilka was charged with being a collaborator and re-imprisoned.
She later married a man in Vorkuta, Russia.
Cilka's story is now being told through Heather Morris’ new novel – Cilka’s Journey.
The author, who penned the Tattooist of Auschwitz, learned about the survivor's plight when she was penning Lale Sokolov’s story.
After the book became a best-seller, she decided to write about the teenage sex slave too.
In a Southbank Centre blog post, the author explained: “During one of our conversations Lale mentioned Cilka and said to me, ‘Did I tell you about Cilka? She was the bravest person I knew’.
“Her story was so extraordinary that I knew it had to be told, too, so I seeded her into the first book.”
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Morris has seen plenty of success from her first novel, which has sold more than three million copies and is being made into a TV mini-series.
But even though the book has been very well received, it has proven to be controversial.
Following the publication of the Tattooist of Auschwitz, the author was criticised by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum.
The organisation said the story creates “an impression about Auschwitz inspired by authentic events” but is “almost without any value as a document”.
In a statement, a spokesperson added: “Given the number of factual errors, therefore, this book cannot be recommended as a valuable title for persons who want to explore and understand the history of Auschwitz.”
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