Long-lasting love stories truly have something special and inspiring about them; they make one believe in the power of true love. This is a story of two beautiful souls who met in the most trying circumstances, fell in love, got married, and spent 71 long years together.
Every human being’s story has ups and downs in the course of life, with joys and love that come after sorrow and pain. There are very few stories as compelling and heart-touching as this one.
Edith Steiner, called Eci by her family, was a Hungarian Jew. She spent six weeks in Auschwitz during the summer of 1944 along with some of her family members at the concentration camps. She and her mother were selected to join the work crew and were separated from the rest of the family. Those who were not chosen eventually died in the gas chambers.
The amazing events that followed were things that could simply happen only in a romantic Hollywood movie.
John Mackay had been a war prisoner himself, held captive in an Italian POW camp. He and a friend made their escape from the camp by dressing in Italian uniforms.
For 18 months thereafter of traveling and evading capture, he continued fighting in the war. It was during this period, when he was a member of the commando team, that he rescued Eci and her fellow prisoners.
Once they were in safe territory, a dance was organized to celebrate the liberation of the prisoners. That’s where the young soldier John noticed the beautiful Eci. It was love at first sight. But he was too shy to ask her to dance at first, so he sent a friend to ask her on his behalf. Eci refused to accept his invitation till John finally mustered the courage to ask her himself.
Eventually, John took Eci and her mother back to his home in Scotland, and they married on July 17, 1946; and that was the beginning of a beautiful journey together.
They had two children, Sharon and Peter, who have since grown and married. In Scotland, they owned and ran the Atholl Arms Hotel in Pitclochry until they retired.
In 2017, they celebrated their 71st Valentine’s Day together. What a beautiful event for the couple and all who had the opportunity to be present.
Surely it is every couple’s dream and desire to be together forever. And this story certainly restores hope and faith in the beauty and devotion in love and marriage.
After Eci passed away, John was pretty lost without his loved one by his side. Sharon, the daughter of the couple, said, “He is absolutely lost. Thankfully they got to spend the last year together. He cared for her.”
