At the young age of sixteen, Cilka was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Cilka is a stunning girl and was chosen by the senior SS officers to be used as a sex slave "comfort woman" for the three years she spent at Auschwitz. After the Russian liberation of Auschwitz in January 1945, Cilka was arrested by the Soviet Secret Police and was charged with collaboration for sleeping with and accepting favors from the senior SS officers. Cilka was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor at a Siberian slave labor camp south of the artic circle.
Vorkuta, the most harsh and dangerous camp in the Soviet gulag was nearly as horrifying as Auschwitz. Cilka's knowledge and skills she learned in Auschwitz were an advantage throughout her time in Vorkuta. She survived by learning to be a nurse. Her ability to speak and write multiple languages and learn quickly made it possible for her to be a nurse. Cilka served as a nurse for the eight years she spent in Vorkuta. She faced many of the same challenges that she faced in Auschwitz, such as being assigned a number, raped, constantly watched, and lost friends and people she cared for. Once freed from Vorkuta, Cilka wasn't sure how to navigate the outside world. After bring imprisoned since she was sixteen, Cilka was free. She was able to find her friends that survived Auschwitz and create a life for herself.