Ella Medalje was born in Tukums in 1913 and later became a teacher of the Latvian language in Jewish schools. She initially perceived her surroundings to be safe and friendly, living in an environment where her colleagues remarked that she looked like a Latvian. However, this perception would later prove deadly as the Nazi occupation began. In the first days of the occupation, her husband, Pinhas, was arrested, marking a pivot in her life as she and Pinhas tried to remain hopeful despite the grim foreboding that accompanied his detention.

In her memoirs, Ella recounts the moment her husband was taken away, never to be seen again. Following the war, she learned that many young Jews, including her husband, were executed in the Biķernieki Forest, a site notorious for mass shootings during the Holocaust in Latvia. The wrenching loss of her husband and the horrors that unfolded are reflective of the larger tragedy impacting the Jewish community in Latvia during that era.

Ella's own experiences brought her to a facility on Valdemāra Street, which served as the headquarters for the Arājs Komanda, the Latvian auxiliary police. This was a period marked by fear and oppression, where individuals like Ella were subjected to the harsh realities of Nazi terror. Her survival story is a poignant reminder of the resilience of individuals amid overwhelming darkness during one of history's most tragic periods.