WATCH: 'Hitler's trusted lieutenant helped us flee to Manila'

MANILA, Philippines — At the onset of World War II, some 1,200 German and Austrian Jews found refuge in the Philippines between 1937 and 1941 in what is to be later known as the "Philippine Rescue."

Celia Tischler Black, a child of Jewish refugees from Nazi-run Germany at the onset of World War II, recounts how one of Adolf Hitler's most trusted officials granted her family documents that allowed them to escape to the Philippines.

"The Philippines was opening its doors to Jewish people fleeing for their lives," Black said on Wednesday in an event in Makati City organized by the Israeli Embassy and the Pilipinas Sandiwa Heritage Foundation.

Reporting: Camille Diola and Mike Frialde
Video: Camille Diola and Yas Salanga