Zsuzsi lived in Marosvásárhely (Târgu Mures) with her parents and two twin sisters, Nora and Helga. Their father, Dr Mór Berner, worked as a dermatologist. In May 1944, the family was driven to the Marosvásárhely ghetto and then to the assembly camp there. They were separated from each other on the ramp at Birkenau, and all but the father were killed in a gas chamber.