Born in Warsaw, to Jakub Grynsztajn and Pola formerly Perl, née Kijewska, she was the youngest of three and the only daughter. After the occupation of Poland by Germany, the family's home was in area that was part of the Warsaw Ghetto. After its destruction in July 1943 they were briefly transferred to Majdanek, then on to Auschwitz. She survived forced evacuation of the camp, the Death March of January 1945, from Auschwitz to Wodzisław Śląski, from which he was transported to Ravensbrück and in February on to Neustadt-Glewe, from where she was liberated by the Red Army in May 1945. Her mother was murdered in Majdanek while her father perished in the Treblinka extermination camp.