After the Nazis invaded Romania, Dr. Perl and her family were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. There, Dr. Perl's husband, only son, parents, and extended family were all killed by the Nazis. Dr. Perl was allowed to live because she was a doctor. She was given the job of working as a doctor in the camp. Diseases (like all kinds of infections), injuries, malnutrition, and many other problems were very common among the inmates. This was because of horrible living conditions at the camps, where inmates were beaten, not given enough food, not given clean water or toilets, were forced to work very hard, and had to live so close together that diseases spread very quickly. Dr. Perl's job was to help these inmates, but she did not have even the most basic medical supplies, like antiseptic, soap, clean cloths for wounds, medicine, or even running water.