In a twist of historical irony that underscores the absurdity of Nazi racial ideology, Hessy Levinsons Taft, whose baby photo was unwittingly used as the ideal Aryan child by Nazi propagandists, has died at age 91 on January 1.

Born to Latvian Jewish parents Jacob and Polin Levinson in Berlin in 1934, Taft’s life became entangled with one of history’s most notorious propaganda machines when she was just six months old. Her parents had taken her to German photographer Hans Ballin for a routine baby portrait, unaware that this innocent act would lead to an extraordinary situation.

Without the family’s knowledge or consent, Ballin submitted Taft’s photograph to a national competition supervised by Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister. The competition sought to identify the ideal Aryan baby – a child who embodied the supposed racial superiority that formed the cornerstone of Nazi ideology.

In a remarkable turn of events, Taft’s photograph won the competition, and her image was prominently displayed on the cover of “Sonne ins Haus” (Sunshine in the House), a Nazi family magazine. The Jewish baby had become, ironically, the poster child for Aryan racial “purity.”

The family only discovered this when their housekeeper recognized the baby on the magazine. Alarmed, Taft’s parents confronted Ballin about his actions. According to accounts reported in The Times, the photographer admitted he had “deliberately wanted to slip in the little Jewess” as an act of subversion against the regime – a dangerous form of resistance that could have had deadly consequences had it been discovered.

Fearing for their safety if authorities learned of the truth, Taft’s parents kept her indoors to avoid public recognition. The family lived with this dangerous secret until they fled Germany in 1938 for Paris, just as the Nazi persecution of Jews was intensifying across Europe.

Their journey to safety continued as World War II escalated. In 1941, the family escaped France through Spain and Portugal, eventually finding refuge in Cuba. Eight years later, in 1949, they immigrated to the United States, where Taft pursued her education at Barnard College before earning a master’s degree in biochemistry from Columbia University.

Taft went on to build a distinguished academic career, becoming a chemistry professor at St. John’s University. She married Earl Taft in 1959, with whom she had two children and four grandchildren.

The remarkable story of her baby photo remained largely private until 1987, when it was first publicly documented in Gertrude Schneider’s book “Muted Voices: Jewish Survivors of Latvia Remember.” In her own words, Taft described her unique place in history: “It is the story of a Jewish baby selected by loyal Nazis to serve as an archetypal example of the Aryan race, the theory which the Nazis’ leadership seized every opportunity to promote. I was that baby.”

In 2014, Taft donated a copy of the magazine featuring her photograph to Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial center. When asked what she would say to Ballin for his dangerous act of submission, she expressed appreciation: “I would tell him, good for you for having the courage.”

The donation to Yad Vashem held special significance for Taft, who told the Holocaust center at the time, “I feel a sense of revenge, good revenge.” Her story serves as a powerful reminder of the fundamental flaws in Nazi racial theory and the arbitrary nature of racial categorization that formed the basis of the Holocaust.

Taft’s life story stands as a potent symbol of resilience and historical irony – a Jewish child whose image was unknowingly used to promote the very ideology that would later seek to exterminate her people.