the dolls of Magda

 

"Hi Magda,
I just found your website. I met you many years ago at an art show on Miami Beach. I bought your piece of the cellist playing the Hungarian Rhapsody. I bought it for my step mother also named Magda. You invited my father, Magda & I to lunch at Eva Taub's house. I saw you again when you came to the Shul in Kendall. Both my parents are gone but your piece is with me in my home. When I saw this video I thought of you immediately. I can't wait to get your book. I wish to stay in touch. You have touched my soul with your life, your story and your art. My Hungarian is not great especially since my parents are gone and I didn't start learning until I was about 16 years old. I hope you are well.
Emadluk,
Mindy Spitze!"

"Dear Magda,
I devoured your book without an interruption from cover to cover and
though I already knew certain parts of your story from our cooperations
in your 2001 exhibit in Nuremberg and the German translation of your
recollections in our magazine “transit nuernberg”, it made a gripping
read.
Of course there are the ruthless murders of your parents and siblings by
the Nazis and the unspeakable sufferings inflicted upon you as a young
girl which have to be remembered forever as the worst crime in men’s
history and in no more lasting way than by the accounts of survivors
like you.
“Dafka” still goes beyond this like no other book I know does by telling
- disarmingly honest, sometimes even painstakingly - also your
adventurous life after liberation, your traumas and your will to
survive, both emerging from your experiences in Auschwitz. As a result
the narrative is full of scenes of darkest sadness, sparkling joy or a
tragicomic quality, almost too many lives for one woman, even if she has
been an orphan, teenage gun moll, mother, cook, hotel manager and artist
successively.
Knowing you personally I have the chance to compare the picture as drawn
in “Dafka” and the real Magda. No doubt: This is you, always head on,
never compromising or lukewarm, vulnerable, romantic, funny - a unique
personality.
Thank you for sharing your biography with your readers. It also will
make them think about their own lives and inspire them.
With kindest regards,
Gerhard Jochem"


"Magda,
You are a living heroine!
People who read DAFKA do find courage to face their life's issues- because of your "miracle" survival as you described in DAFKA-a MEMOIR.
Your will to survive demonstrates that anything is possible-while staying alive.
That determination to live and stay a human- to live a life-is the hope your life teaches others.
Your legacy of HOPE prevailing over the most improbable circumstances you faced makes you a Hall of Fame member along with all the others who struggled against cruel fate-and did not make it.
Long live DAFKA's Memoirs as a tribute to your miraculous life and to honor those gone on to the next dimension...
Vince"

"Dear Magda,
Thank you so much for being part of our 19th annual Festival of Arts, Books, and Culture. Your amazing story and artwork were a highlight of the Festival and enhanced our program immensely. We appreciate you sharing your personal journey with us and numerous students in the area.
It was an honor for us to have you at various programs throughout the week. Our community members enjoyed meeting you and your “shetl people” were a huge hit. People are still stopping in the gallery to admire them.
I wish you continued health and success and once again thank you for traveling to Cherry Hill, NJ for our Festival. Have a Happy Hanukah!
Sabrina Spector"

"Magda Watts: Dafka. A Memoir. Arbor Books, Inc., Ramsey (NJ), 2008. In
this extraordinary, moving account, Hungarian born Magda Watts tells of
an unforgettable odyssey of survival in Auschwitz and the labor camps at
the Siemens factory in Nuremberg - where, from the depths of despair,
her artistry as a doll maker was born. For more information see:
rijo.homepage"

"Actor Tom Cruise says he read the book "Dafka -- In Spite Of" as background for his role as head conspirator in a plot to assassinate German Nazi leader Adolph Hitler in his upcoming film "Valkyrie," which opens Christmas Day.
"Dafka — In Spite Of," by Magda Watts, published by Arbor Books, tells the heroic, autobiographical story of a young Hungarian girl who survives the terrors of Auschwitz to become a thriving artist.
"I found the book very moving and incredibly useful in terms of discovering the plotters' motivation for their act," says Cruise."
Huliq News"

"Dafka—In Spite Of, by Magda Watts, tells the heroic, autobiographical story of a young Hungarian girl who survives the terrors of Auschwitz to become a thriving artist.
Arbor Books"