Surviving the Angel of Death: The Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor

Apr 17, 2013 Anna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: autobio-bio-true-story, wwii-and-holocaust, jewish-protagonist

To fully understand how extraordinary Eva and Miriam's survival is, you must realize who Josef Mengele was. Josef Mengele was known for his experiments at Auschwitz and for being the one at all of the selections. He performed open-heart surgeries, often resulting in a very painful death. He conducted numerous experiments on mostly twins, dwarfs, the handicapped, giants, or anyone else with an abnormal trait. He purposely injected one twin with some disease, then compared the twins posthumously....more To fully understand how extraordinary Eva and Miriam's survival is, you must realize who Josef Mengele was. Josef Mengele was known for his experiments at Auschwitz and for being the one at all of the selections. He performed open-heart surgeries, often resulting in a very painful death. He conducted numerous experiments on mostly twins, dwarfs, the handicapped, giants, or anyone else with an abnormal trait. He purposely injected one twin with some disease, then compared the twins posthumously. He tried to change eye colors, change gender, figure out what caused twins. Well, his ultimate goal to create blond-haired blue-eyed twins without "flaw" was never realized.

10 year-old Eva Kor, although the youngest of 4 sisters, had always been the most strong-willed. She remembers her battles with her father, and she believes those battles helped her survive. When the Germans tattooed her arm, she made sure to give them a heck of a time as she struggled against them. Eventually 4 people had to hold the screaming child down. When Mengele injected Eva with something (to this day she is unsure of what it was) and assumed she would die, Eva bravely fought back with little food and barely any water. Although she ran an extremely high fever, she managed to outsmart Mengele and smuggled ("organized") food for herself and Miriam multiple times - all before she even became a teenager!

In her later life, she moved to Israel, met a man named Michael Kor, and eventually moved to Terre Haute, Indiana where she still lives today. In Terre Haute she started a museum called CANDLES: Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors. As for her forgiving Dr. Mengele, wow. That's an amazing story in itself.
In short, I loved it and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in history, true stories, or the Holocaust.
It is well written with the age range around junior high and high school.
If you enjoyed it, I would recommend the show Nazi Hunters episode "The Angel of Death", which describes Mengele, his attempted capture, and his ultimate death. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZF58w...
You can learn more about Eva and CANDLES at her website, http://www.candlesholocaustmuseum.org/

Here is the last part of Surviving the Angel of Death I thought was worth sharing.

I have given over 3,000 speeches throughout the world, written two books, and contributed three chapters in three other books. I hope to teach young people he life lessons I have learned through all my pain and everything I have been through and survived:
1. Never ever give up on yourself or your dreams, for everything good in life is impossible.
2. Judge people on their actions and the content of their character.
3. Forgive your worst enemy and forgive everyone who has hurt you - it will heal your soul and set you free.
....A quote from my Declaration of Amnesty read at the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz: "I hope, in some small way, to send the world a message of forgiveness; a message of peace, a message of hope, a message of healing. Let there be no more wars, no more experiments without informed consent, no more gas chambers, no more bombs, no more hatred, no more killing, and no more Auschwitzes."

EDIT: Eva Kor is the first (and only) Holocaust survivor I have met. She is amazing in person!! Her message on forgiveness and her life lessons are so powerful and inspiring.(less)

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Mar 25, 2013 Danielle Stoll rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Danielle by: Eva Kor

Potential spoilers

Eva Kor witness crimes against humanity while simultaneously being a victim of some of those same crimes. She and her twin sister Miriam kept each other alive at Auschwitz-Birkenau as they suffered humiliation, degradation, hunger pains, illness, dysentery, and more, most of which resulted not just from simply being concentration camp prisoners, but from being human test subjects to Dr. Josef Mengele. At 141 pages, this short-lived book is a first-person account from Eva Kor ab...more Potential spoilers

Eva Kor witness crimes against humanity while simultaneously being a victim of some of those same crimes. She and her twin sister Miriam kept each other alive at Auschwitz-Birkenau as they suffered humiliation, degradation, hunger pains, illness, dysentery, and more, most of which resulted not just from simply being concentration camp prisoners, but from being human test subjects to Dr. Josef Mengele. At 141 pages, this short-lived book is a first-person account from Eva Kor about her life before, during, and after her time at Auschwitz. Most people know about details of the atrocities of the holocaust, but not as many know the atrocities committed directly upon the twins of the holocaust, and Eva brings those details to her readers. The hardest part for me was reading about their return trip home, specifically on pages 112-113. It was at this point I suddenly cried as if I were returning to the ghost of my past, but when I was ready, I continued reading and found myself amazed at Eva's conclusion. She has chosen to forgive the Nazi's, even Dr. Mengele, and encourages everyone to embrace the power of forgiveness. "...for I realized that I had the power even to forgive the Angel of Death. 'Wow,' I thought, 'it makes me feel food that I can do that. I have that power, and I am not hurting anyone with it... Anger and hurt are seeds that germinate war. Forgiveness is a seed for peace. It is that ultimate act of self-healing" (page 133).
*Eva noted in her lecture at Missouri State University on 26 February 2013 that she has been ridiculed by some for forgiving the criminals; I find it fascinating and applaud such choices and abilities, for I have never once thought someone could or would forgive the Nazis of World War II.
**The Author's Note (Lisa Rojany Buccieri) at the end of the book mentions, "It was Eva who first expressed her wish to adapt her previously self-published memoir Echoes From Auschwitz: Dr. Menegele's Twins, The Story of Eva and Miriam Mozes into a form more suitable for young adults." I am curious to read that first book, and I will.(less)

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Apr 07, 2012 Kat rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, wwii, true-story, holocaust, poland, 2012-read, arc-review-complete, updated

I've read a lot of memoirs in the last 10 years written by survivors of the holocaust. Shocking, haunting and enough to make your blood boil, these are unimaginable stories of loss, pain and heartbreak but also inspiring and motivating.

Surviving the Angel of Death is one of the few Holocaust books that I've read aimed primarily at a younger audience, but that doesn't make it any less shocking than accounts that are more adult-focused. In fact, being lived through the eyes of 10-year-old Eva is...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Lori Spier rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: all readers

Recommended to Lori by: netgalley.com

Shelves: memoir

Survivor accounts of the Holocaust can be difficult to read, however Eva Mozes Kor has pieced together her memories of her time as a “Mengele Twin” in such a way that the reader feels her strength of spirit and the love she had for her twin.

As a young adult book, there are no graphic descriptions of experiments being carried out. That’s not to say that everything is glossed over and made tidy and happy; indeed, it’s not. The reader is given an inkling of the fear, desperation and pain that the t...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle, netgalley, read-2013

Eva and Miriam, identical twins, were ten years old when they were transported to Auschwitz, along with their parents and two older siblings. While the rest of their family were taken to the gas chambers, Eva and Miriam survived, selected by Dr Mengele, the "Angel of Death" for use in his experiments.

This version of Eva's biography is specifically aimed towards a young adult market.

What can you say about any biography of someone who lived through the Holocaust? It is difficult to come to terms...more Eva and Miriam, identical twins, were ten years old when they were transported to Auschwitz, along with their parents and two older siblings. While the rest of their family were taken to the gas chambers, Eva and Miriam survived, selected by Dr Mengele, the "Angel of Death" for use in his experiments.

This version of Eva's biography is specifically aimed towards a young adult market.

What can you say about any biography of someone who lived through the Holocaust? It is difficult to come to terms with the pure evil that led to the construction of the death camps and concentration camps, and the evil perpetrated by people such as Mengele in the name of "science".

This book is written in a very relatable style, making the reader really feel the horror of her life in Auschwitz. Even such a simple thing as the description of the burning smell in the air when she is taken off the trains is conveyed with such feeling (and horror for the reader, who knows what they smell is, even as Eva doesn't).

Eva Mozes Kor was an extraordinary child. When confronted with her first sight of dead children in the camp, she doesn't crumble, but simply makes up her mind that she, and her twin Miriam, must survive. And survive she did, "organising" (stealing) food for Miriam when she needs it, pushing herself to live through a Mengele-administered disease that should have killed her when she realises that her death would also mean Miriam's (as Mengele would kill the surviving twin after a diseased one died, so he could compare their organs). She kept Miriam and herself alive through the dissolution of the camps, through the journey to return home, all in the hope that somehow, the rest of their family survived.

The biography goes on further, into Eva's life under communist rule, and to her eventual migration to Israel, where she could finally practice her religion freely.

So much of Eva Mozes Kor's life was lived through nightmare, but her true strength is shown through compassion and forgiveness. She and her twin established CANDLES (Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors), and in the epilogue to the book, she also forgives Dr Mengele, knowing that forgiveness takes the power from his hands to hers. That she can do this, even after Mengele's experiments stunted her twin Miriam's kidneys, and eventually took her life, leaving Eva alone, is a tribute to Eva Mozes Kor's strength.(less)

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Feb 05, 2013 Cheryl M-M rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have read an abundance of literature written by survivors of the holocaust. Some of those books are aimed at the adult market and others, like this one, for the younger reader. The adult versions are often graphic and it is hard to digest the reality of these horrific factual accounts. The YA or childrens' versions bring the same facts to the table, but in a more subtle and careful manner, which is easier for the younger reader to take on board.
Now some would argue that memoirs and historical...more I have read an abundance of literature written by survivors of the holocaust. Some of those books are aimed at the adult market and others, like this one, for the younger reader. The adult versions are often graphic and it is hard to digest the reality of these horrific factual accounts. The YA or childrens' versions bring the same facts to the table, but in a more subtle and careful manner, which is easier for the younger reader to take on board.
Now some would argue that memoirs and historical accounts of this nature should be thrown at the reader, regardless of their age, like a bucket of cold water on a hot summers day. I completely disagree. I believe that it is of great importance that the younger generation learn from our mistakes and by creating a version of this book (and others of this nature) for children, we are building a bridge to the past. One that a younger reader can grasp because it is written on their level.
So this story by Eva Mozes, about her own and her twin sisters experience in Dr Mengele's lab and concentration camp, is written through the eyes of the then ten year old Eva.
At the end of the book there is a chapter on how Eva found peace by forgiving those who murdered her family and tortured herself and her sister. I find it commendable that she advocates this for herself and doesn't try to define or decide how others deal with their pain and memories about the Holocaust. She said she needed it to be at peace with her past. Not many of us can find that path.
In the book she decribes incidents like being separated from her mother and family, being tattooed with her number, being used as a human guinea pig by Mengele. Eva does all this with what seems like almost detached emotion, as if she knows that treading too close to the actual memory will bring back an unsustainable pain, so instead she keeps her distance.
Her or their story is one of perserverance, even more so after the events in the camp. I highly recommend this as reading material for younger readers, scholastic resources and older readers.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.
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Oct 30, 2012 Ashley Ziemer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Eva Mozes Kor and her sister are Jewish twins, which means two things: one, they are destined to be shipped off like cattle to a Nazi camp, and two, they will become living experiments for the "Angel of Death." At just ten years of age, Eva must endure and survive the unthinkable all the while protecting her twin. Her story is amazingly horrific. The book depicts Eva's life just prior to being rounded up and shipped off to Auschwitz, her time of experimentation under Dr. Josef Mengele (the Angel...more

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Jun 17, 2012 W rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-read

This short YA memoir tells the story of Eva and her sister Miriam, twin girls that survived the nightmarish genetic testing of Dr. Mengele in WWII Auschwitz. I appreciated how the author took her story to the level of the readers, though some explanations of terms I felt were a bit unnecessary for most YA readers. I felt she underestimated their vocabulary at times (for instance, when defining the term "allies"), and the writing style felt like it was geared towards perhaps a bit younger group t...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Sarah5 rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a fascinating memoir of a survivor of Auschwitz. Eva Kor and her twin sister, Miriam were subjected to horrific scientific experiments by the 'Angel of Death' (Josef Mengele). This is a version of her biography which is aimed at young adults, although I feel that adults alike should read this as well.

The twins were born in Romania, and this tells us of their struggles as a Jewish family as Germany begin to take over their country. They lose the rest of their immediate family, including t...more

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May 13, 2012 Beatnik Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

http://cozylittlebookjournal.blogspot...

This is a shorter version of Eva Mozes Kor's biography, this time adapted for a young adult audience. Having said that, it's a devastating and captivating story, accessible to both teens and adults. Eva and her twin sister Miriam were taken to Auschwitz in 1944 when they were just ten years old. Their parents and older sisters were all killed but the girls managed to survive only because they were twins, brought into the sadistic experiments of Dr. Josef M...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Krista (CubicleBlindness Reviews) rated it 3 of 5 stars

This story reminded me a lot of Night by Elie Wiesel it was a very short story of this particular author's memories of what happened to her and her sister during the war. It is of course a little less detailed and horrific as the book Night was. This book would be a good addition to school libraries and classrooms to help lead discussions on the war and what the people experienced above and beyond what most classrooms see through the story of Anne Frank.
Eva and her twin sister are the focus of...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Louise rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoirs

Story Description:

Eva Mozes Kor was 10 years old when she arrived in Auschwitz. While her parents and two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers, she and her twin, Miriam, were herded into the care of the man known as the Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele. Mengele's twins were granted the privileges of keeping their own clothes and hair, but they were also subjected to sadistic medical experiments and forced to fight daily for their own survival, as most of the twins died as a result of th...more Story Description:

Eva Mozes Kor was 10 years old when she arrived in Auschwitz. While her parents and two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers, she and her twin, Miriam, were herded into the care of the man known as the Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele. Mengele's twins were granted the privileges of keeping their own clothes and hair, but they were also subjected to sadistic medical experiments and forced to fight daily for their own survival, as most of the twins died as a result of the experiments or from the disease and hunger pervasive in the camp. In a narrative told with emotion and restraint, readers will learn of a child's endurance and survival in the face of truly extraordinary evil. The book also includes an epilogue on Eva's recovery from this experience and her remarkable decision to publicly forgive the Nazis. Through her museum and her lectures, she has dedicated her life to giving testimony on the Holocaust, providing a message of hope for people who have suffered, and working toward goals of forgiveness, peace, and the elimination of hatred and prejudice in the world.

My Review:

Twin sisters, Eva and Miriam, are crammed into a cattle car with their mother, father, and two older sisters, Edit and Aliz. They are from Romania and think they are being taken to Hungary. When the doors open they see the German soldiers and realize they are in Auschwitz in Germany. They thought they were being taken to a Hungarian labour camp to work but now realize they’ve been taken to a concentration camp to die. The twin sisters were pulled away from their family and never saw them again. They were only ten-years-old and born on January 31, 1934 in the village of Portz in Transylvania, Romania. They were a Jewish family and the only Jewish family in their village of Portz.

Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany as the head of the Nazi party in 1933. He hated Jews. In September of 1939, Word War II began when German Nazi troops invaded Poland.

The twin’s mother never believed the Nazi’s would ever come to their tiny village of Portz, but when she heard news broadcasts over the radio that Hitler was killing Jews she began to worry. Then in the fall of 1940 the twins began school and their two new teachers were Hungarian and were sent by the Nazi’s. With them, they brought books that contained slurs against Jews. They were even shown a film titled: “How to Catch and Kill a Jew.” These were known as propaganda films. Their math book even contained a problem that said: “If you had five Jews, and you killed three Jews, how many Jews would be left?” The other students who were all non-Jewish began to call the twins names and beat them up at every opportunity.

The family was taunted endlessly. Late one night in September of 1943, their parents woke the children in the middle of the night and told them to get dressed. They were to wear as many layers of clothing that they possibly could. Their father had determined it was time for them to leave and try to cross over the border to the non-Hungarian side of Romania where they would be safe. When they reached the gate at the back of their property someone shouted: “Stop!” There stood a Hungarian Nazi youth with a gun pointed at them. A group of teenage boys wearing Hungarian Nazi armbands with swastikas on them had been guarding their property to ensure the family didn’t get away. They were marched right back to their house.

In early 1944 two Hungarian policemen came and ordered them to get their belongings because they were going to be transported to a transportation center. They were given two hours to pack. Soon they were on their way to Auschwitz.

Once in Auschwitz two older Jewish twin girls explained to Eva and Miriam what the gas chamber and crematorium was for. Eva and Miriam were terrified and realized then what had happened to their parents and two older sisters. The older twins informed them that the only reason they and everyone else in their barracks were alive was because they were all twins and would be used in “experiments” by Dr. Josef Mengele, also known as the “Angel of Death.”

What Eva and Miriam endured was barbaric treatment, starvation, humiliation, sickness and disease, random gun shots, and living in a barracks covered in lice. The courage, stamina, hope, and love they had for one another is what made them survive this terrible time in their lives.

The book was riveting and had me hooked from the very first page. Although a lot of us don’t like to read stories about the atrocities done to our fellow humans, this is an important story that everyone should read. Remember, Eva and Miriam actually LIVED this and we’re only reading about it from the comfort of our homes as free people.

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Sep 16, 2011 Sandra "Jeanz" rated it 5 of 5 stars

Eva Mozes Kor was only 10 years old when she first arrived in Auschwitz.Eva's parents and her two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers. Eva and her twin, Miriam, were herded into the care of the man known as the Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele. Mengele's twins were granted the privileges of keeping their own clothes and hair, but it wasn't an easy life for them as they were also subjected to sadistic medical experiments and forced to fight daily for their own survival. Most of the twin...more

Eva Mozes Kor was only 10 years old when she first arrived in Auschwitz.Eva's parents and her two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers. Eva and her twin, Miriam, were herded into the care of the man known as the Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele. Mengele's twins were granted the privileges of keeping their own clothes and hair, but it wasn't an easy life for them as they were also subjected to sadistic medical experiments and forced to fight daily for their own survival. Most of the twins died as a result of the terrible experiments or from the awful widely spread disease and hunger pervasive in the camp. In a narrative told with emotion and yet restraint, readers will learn of a young child's endurance and survival in the face of truly extraordinary evil. The book also includes an epilogue on Eva's recovery from this experience and her remarkable decision to publicly forgive the Nazis. Through her museum and her lectures, she has dedicated her life to giving testimony on the Holocaust, providing a message of hope for people who have suffered, and working toward goals of forgiveness, peace, and the elimination of hatred and prejudice in the world.

I don't know how to explain why I am choosing to reading this book, only to say that I believe that the horrors of the Holocaust should never be forgotten, that it was something that truly happened and that our children do not seem to be taught the reality or existence of the Holocaust anymore. The younger generation of teachers seem to brush it off as if it either didn't happen or was not as bad as it seemed which is a ridiculous and uneducated view. These atrocities happened and should never ever be forgotten by any generation. Eva tells her heartbreaking story in a rather matter of fact way, she never seems to feel sorry for herself, she is ,by nature, the strongest of the twins both mentally and physically, she is the one that fights to stay alive and keep her twin Miriam alive too. They are torn from their previously rather quiet and normal, quite privileged life in the country, where their clothes are handmade for them and they have plentiful supplies of food and are quite sheltered from the horrors of the world and thrust into a world of survival of the fittest, eat whatever is available, take clothes from the dead to keep yourself warm, and take one day at a time. The twins are considered the "lucky" ones at the camp as they are alive and have each other, they have to come to terms with the fact the rest of their family is probably dead. The two girls have their arms stamped with prisoner numbers they no longer use names, they know only each others names.They have to learn to survive and rely only upon each other, they are only separated once when Eva has been injected with an illness and has to be taken to the infirmary. Anyone taken to the infirmary usually dies, and that means death for their twin too, as Doctor Mengele only wants twins to experiment on. Eva and Miriams lives literally depend upon each others survival. By some miracle Eva survives the illness Mengele injected into her and is returned to her sister whom she hardly recognises, Miriam had thought Eva dead and had literally given up on life herself, so Eva has to again be the strong twin and fight to save their lives. Eva has to learn to "organise" extra food. The extra food helps them both fight the diseases that are rife around them and the injections that they are being given too. you would think all their worries would be over when the camp is liberated, but even when the camp is liberated the hardships aren't over, food is still scarce. The twins are moved to a holding camp, where after a bit of persuasion an old family friend signs for them and returns them "home". "Home" has been ransacked, their parents are not there, that is when Eva finally faces up to the fact that her family is dead. Eventually Eva and Miriam make their way to Palestine to their uncle.The repercussion's of the Doctors experiment come to the fore once again when Miriams kidneys fail, her kidneys fail as Doctor Mengele gave her an injection at the age of ten to stop her kidneys growing to a size of an adults. Eva once again saves Miriams life by donating one of hers. This book covers an horrific time in history, a time that should never be forgotten, did the world learn from the atrocities that occurred, not really as war and segregation still seem to be occurring in todays so called modern world. I could seriously go on and on about this book, about the people who turned a blind eye when Eva's family were taken from their village, there is so much covered in the book. the cover must send a chill down your spine as i know it does mine, then you learn the truth behind how that photograph was obtained......

This book is due out on 15th October and personally I think it should be used in schools to educate our children as to what really happened in our history. Available amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk(less)

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Sep 08, 2011 Alex Baugh rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: world-war-2

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Almost from the moment 10 year old twins Eva and Miriam Mozes stepped out of the cattle car that brought them to Auschwitz, they were separated from their mother, father, and older sisters, never to see them again. Eva comments over and over on the constant smell that permeated Auschwitz from the gas chambers, but even as she instinctively knows that this is the fateful death that the rest of her family had immediately met, she continues to hope they could somehow survive.

The girls were put into...more Almost from the moment 10 year old twins Eva and Miriam Mozes stepped out of the cattle car that brought them to Auschwitz, they were separated from their mother, father, and older sisters, never to see them again. Eva comments over and over on the constant smell that permeated Auschwitz from the gas chambers, but even as she instinctively knows that this is the fateful death that the rest of her family had immediately met, she continues to hope they could somehow survive.

The girls were put into a barracks with all the other twins chosen for the sadistic, inhuman medical experiments of Dr. Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death. Eva, the stronger of the twins, takes it upon herself to look after and care for her sister Miriam. Like all of Mengele’s twins, Eva and Miriam were allowed to keep the clothing they arrived in, as well as their hair, but they were forced to scrounge and “organize” for anything else that would help them survive, even as they were being experimented on.

The strength and resourcefulness of these two girls amazed me. Once day, for example, Eva was given a shot that Miriam was not also given. During the night, she began to run a high fever, within 48 hours her legs were swollen and covered with red patches. Despite the pain and chills these caused, Eva was determined to stand for roll call and not go to the infirmary, since the only way out of it was death and they knew that if one twin died, the other would be killed. She missed roll call thanks to an air raid, but was soon sent to the infirmary to die anyway. On a visit with other doctors, Mengele indicated she had only two weeks to live. But Eva was determined not to be sent to the gas chamber, even though she was not fed or given water. Desperately thirsty, each night, she would crawl on all fours to the end of the infirmary barracks to a water faucet, determined to live. After two weeks, Eva’s high fever broke. But she had to learn how to manipulate the thermometer to fool Mengele into thinking her temperature was normal. Unfortunately, when Eva returned to the barracks and Miriam, she discovered that, because the doctors believed that she would die, her sister had been subjected to injections that caused to her to quite listless and which ultimately stunted the growth of her kidneys.

Both of these 10 year old sisters managed to stay alive in Auschwitz, despite Mengele’s horrendous genetic experiments. Their story is a testament to courage and determination, which will, hopefully, be especially interesting to young readers. And, although I am a firm believer in forgiveness, even I am amazed that Eva was able to eventually find it within herself to forgive Mengele. I’m not sure I could or would go that far. Mengele, after all, was the arbiter of life and death at Auschwitz.

Surviving the Angel of Death: the Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz is told in a straightforward manner, neither too graphic to scare readers nor so sketchy that it diminishes the level of cruel, heartless treatment Mengele’s twins were subjected to. The writing style is intimate and informal, as though Eva Mozes were telling her story to Lisa Rojany Bucceri and I was allowed to listen in. It never gets pedantic, and there is never a sense of self-pity. I suspect Eva is still the same strong feisty fighter now that she was at 10. The book also contains a number of personal family photos of the Mozes family, some from before the war, some from after, as well as pictures their life after the war. There are also general photographs of Auschwitz.

After the war, Eva lived in Israel for a while, and then moved to Terre Haute, Indiana with her husband, Michael Kor, another concentration camp survivor and with whom she had two children. She still lives in Terre Haute, where she founded the Candles Holocaust Museum in 1995.

This book is highly recommended for readers age 12 and up.
The book was a received as an E-ARC from Netgalley.com.

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May 05, 2011 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens, non-fiction, net-galley

A first person account of what it was like to be a twin subjected to horrific and often pointless experiments at the hand of Dr. Mengele at Auschwitz. Eva and Miriam are just 10 years old when they arrive at the camp and are separated from their parents and two older sisters, whom they never see again. The twins are taken to a special ward and used in all sorts of experiments, including some which almost kill them and leave lasting medical issues. Even as an adult who has read much survivor lite...more

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Apr 30, 2011 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a short book--I read it in less than an hour--and School Library Journal recommends it for grades 6 and up. When I was in junior high I went through a phase of reading all I could about the Holocaust and this book would have been right up my alley at that time in my life. As an adult today, I enjoyed it; my only concern would be that readers would consider Kor's experience typical. In short, she and her sister went through hell at Auschwitz, but had each other and both lived to tell abou...more This is a short book--I read it in less than an hour--and School Library Journal recommends it for grades 6 and up. When I was in junior high I went through a phase of reading all I could about the Holocaust and this book would have been right up my alley at that time in my life. As an adult today, I enjoyed it; my only concern would be that readers would consider Kor's experience typical. In short, she and her sister went through hell at Auschwitz, but had each other and both lived to tell about it. We know how atypical that experience was. However, we do learn that most people were not so lucky.

The book begins like many holocaust stories or memoirs, the story of a large happy family living in Europe pre-WWII. As the Nazi's take over, things get worse, but surely those rumors can't be true, surely the Nazi's will fall one day, and we don't want to leave our homes and all we know. Then the Nazi's show that the rumors are true, and we follow the author and her twin sister to Auschwitz where they are separated from their parents and made part of Mengele's twin experiments. Between the privileged status of these twins as compared to other inmates and their own strong will to survive, and the fact that they were "only" there from May 1944 to January 1945, both twins lived. Eva's story continues to the post-war period when she and her sister return to their hometown to learn for sure that most of her family did not survive.

As I noted before, it is a short book, but given the topic, it was long enough. The fact of the matter was that these ten year old girls really didn't know much about what was happening to them. While the injected substances may have varied, to the girls, one day was like the next. While Kor gives us enough information about her post-Auschwitz life to bring us up-to-date, she doesn't allow this memoir to become "How the Nazi's Not Only Experimented on Me For a Year, but Also How They Made My Life Miserable for Another Fifty". She mentions some of the problems she has had a result of those horrific years but doesn't dwell on them.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. I was not obligated to write any review, much less a positive one. Grade: B+ (less)

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Apr 23, 2011 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Appropriately written for intended audience. The author is an identical twin who was singled out (or doubled out, really) based on the fact that she and her twin were standing on the train platform. They were ripped from their mother's arms and never saw her nor any other member of their immediate family again.

Interned in Auschwitz, the acrid smell of burning flesh always present, Dr. Mengele, the Angel of Death, conducted cruel experiments on the twins, often simply for the answer to his quest...more

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Apr 19, 2011 Melissa Roach rated it 5 of 5 stars

Description:
Eva Mozes Kor was just 10 years old when she arrived in Auschwitz. While her parents and two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers, she and her twin, Miriam, were herded into the care of the man known as the Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele. Subjected to sadistic medical experiments, she was forced to fight daily for her and her twin's survival. In this incredible true story written for young adults, readers will learn of a child's endurance and survival in the face of truly...more

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Mar 28, 2011 Rachel Vance rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book tells the horrific experiences of Eva and Miriam Mozes during their time in the Nazi concentration camps. Eva and Miriam are only 10 years old when their family is arrested and placed in a cattle car with only room to stand, no food, no water, and barbed wire on the tiny windows. At the end of the train ride they are relieved until they see where they've arrived, the Auschwitz concentration camp. They are immediately ripped from the father, mother, and sisters, never to see them again,...more

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Jun 26, 2010 Kristin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

When I teach my students about Holocaust they are often most curious about Dr. Josef Mengele and his horrible experiments. Mengele is notorious for his quasi medical experiments on twins, dwarfs, gypsies and other people with physical abnormalities. His is referred to as the Angel of Death because while his experiments were, more often than not, deadly, being selected by him gave one a glimmer of survival.

This glimmer of survival is Eva Kor's story in Surviving the Angel of Death: The Story of a...more

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Nov 07, 2012 CookieDemon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, netgalley-early-reads

Though I have read a lot of books (both fiction and non-fiction) about the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust, this is the first non-fiction novel I have picked up that has been primarily aimed at children. But don’t discount that fact- this is a book that everyone must read, young and old alike, in order to fully comprehend just what happened at Auschwitz and to ensure that such atrocities never happen again.

Though this is in effect quite a short read, its impact is nonetheless immediate. We...more Though I have read a lot of books (both fiction and non-fiction) about the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust, this is the first non-fiction novel I have picked up that has been primarily aimed at children. But don’t discount that fact- this is a book that everyone must read, young and old alike, in order to fully comprehend just what happened at Auschwitz and to ensure that such atrocities never happen again.

Though this is in effect quite a short read, its impact is nonetheless immediate. We are introduced to 10-year-old Romanian Jew Eva, her twin sister Miriam and the rest of their loving family, who live a happy, peaceful life in a small farming village. Following Germany’s persecution of the Jewish people in the surrounding countries during WWII, Eva’s mother seems to feel that their family is safe; they are after all the only Jews in their village and they get along well with everyone. Alas, this does not remain the case and by 1944 the family are suffering indignities and persecution of their own, including attacks by former friends and neighbours. After a failed escape attempt, the family is taken to Auschwitz and immediately ripped apart. What follows is Eva’s personal account of her and her twin sisters’ time spent at Auschwitz, and the torturous experiments inflicted on them by Angel of Death, Josef Mengele, a sadistic doctor with a fascination of the genetics of twins and an obsession with gleaning as much knowledge of them as possible.

This book is powerful and moving. Like other books featuring accounts of the Holocaust, I still feel a sense of disbelief that so much went on in the death camps that the allies were not aware of and that such sheer hell happened at all. At times my heart broke at the uncertainty, helplessness and sheer fear that seeps through these pages. At the core of this book however is Eva’s admirable sense of determination to survive, both for her and Miriam, in order for her to be able to tell not only their story, but the story of thousands of other Jewish people. As a result, despite its subject matter, I ultimately found this memoir to be an uplifting story of hope by its poignant conclusion, and a wonderful testament to the bravery and strength of both Eva and her twin sister.

For Eva to actually be able to forgive the Nazi’s for the unspeakable acts that she was subjected to during her time at Auschwitz is utterly extraordinary and says so much about her level of compassion and the human spirit generally. She sounds like a remarkable person, particularly in her continuing support of others who endured such experimentation that she and Miriam did.

I personally feel that this book would be an eye-opening and informative read for anyone, child or adult, who wishes to learn more about the treatment of Jews during WWII, and at their time at Auschwitz in particular. The Holocaust as retold through the eyes of a survivor, and those of a child nonetheless, is something that will undoubtedly stay with me forever.
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Aug 11, 2012 Alicia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: abuse, adult, historical, holocaust, multicultural, nonfiction, science

A very simple and powerful glimpse into Mengele's torturous medical block at Auschwitz where he systematically tested twins "in the name of science." With richer descriptions of the abuse and emotional and physical torment the twins went through on their quest to survive, this puts the twin perspective into perspective better than the book, Children of the Flames, which focused more on Mengele himself.

The descriptions of pre-war life, life at the camps, and their subsequent freedom and quest fo...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Medeia Sharif rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Eva Mozes, her twin sister, her two older sisters, and her parents are living in a Romanian village where they’re surrounded by anti-Semites. Eva is taunted at school and her home is vandalized. Propaganda against Jews is mounting during World War II. Eva’s father tells the family that they’ll get through this and must tolerate the abuse, until one night he tries to escape the village with his family. His plan fails when Nazi youth are stationed outside their home and prevent them from fleeing.

T...more

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Jan 19, 2011 Malissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, teen-book-group-selection

This is the true story (told in the 1st person) of Eva Mozes Kor who, along with her sister, was one of the many twins that Dr. Joseph Mengele used for experimentation purposes in Auschwitz. There were several things that I especially liked about this book. It's obviously a horrible story, but it's told here in a way that I think kids as young as jr. high could handle and be interested in. I also really, really liked that the story continued past the liberation of Auschwitz and ended when Eva an...more

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May 16, 2013 Jo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-that-make-you-think, epubs, historical

Surviving the Angel of Death
By Eva Mozes Kor and Lisa Rojany Buccieri
Summary courtesy of goodreads.com

Eva Mozes Kor was 10 years old when she arrived in Auschwitz. While her parents and two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers, she and her twin, Miriam, were herded into the care of the man known as the Angel of Death.

Dr. Josef Mengele. Mengele's twins were granted the privileges of keeping their own clothes and hair, but they were also subjected to sadistic medical experiments and forced...more

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Oct 01, 2011 ABookVacation rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have to say that this memoir is a wonderful read. I’ve had it on my list of books to read for a while, and now I’m kicking myself for having waited so long. Though the topic of the memoir is gut wrenching, the prose and revelations within the book are captivating; something everyone needs to know about. I’m ashamed to say that I’d never heard of the twin experiments within the camps, though I knew of experimentation, and what Dr. Mengele did to those children is truly atrocious. Mozes Kor does...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Heidi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazing-books, netgalley

Surviving the Angel of Death: The Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz is adapted from Eva Mozes Kor's self-published memoir, Echoes From Auschwitz: Dr. Mengele's Twins, The Story Of Eva And Miriam Mozes. This first-person account is intended for readers in grade six and up.

On January 31, 1934, Eva and Miriam Mozes entered the world as identical twin sisters. The twin girls, along with their parents and older sisters Edit and Aliz, lived in the village of Portz in Transylvania, Romania. As the o...more Surviving the Angel of Death: The Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz is adapted from Eva Mozes Kor's self-published memoir, Echoes From Auschwitz: Dr. Mengele's Twins, The Story Of Eva And Miriam Mozes. This first-person account is intended for readers in grade six and up.

On January 31, 1934, Eva and Miriam Mozes entered the world as identical twin sisters. The twin girls, along with their parents and older sisters Edit and Aliz, lived in the village of Portz in Transylvania, Romania. As the only Jewish family in the community, they increasingly became more and more aware of the growing anti-Semitism pervading the culture. When Eva and her sister began school in 1940, two new teachers were brought into the city by the Nazis. With them, they brought books containing caricatures of Jews and propaganda films. Their classmates began to see them as “Dirty Jews” and turned against them. Things progressively got worse until finally, in 1943, their father decided it was time to try to leave their home and escape to the safety of Romania. Unfortunately, they were too late. The Hungarian Nazi youth had been stationed outside their home to make sure they did not escape.

The year that Eva and Miriam turned ten, they, along with the rest of their family, were transported in a cattle car to Auschwitz. Dressed identically since birth, the girls were quickly identified in their matching dresses. With a flick of Dr. Mengele’s baton, they were separated from the rest of their family. Because they were identical twins, they were of particular interest to Dr. Mengele. Dr. Mengele wanted to learn how to create perfect Aryan babies and interred twins, along with giants, dwarfs, the handicapped and gypsies became his human guinea pigs. Eva, the stronger of the twins in spirit, refused to give in to the Nazis. She realized from the beginning that she must survive so that her sister is able to survive. Subjected to horrific experiments and left for dead, Eva will not let her sister down. They will survive Auschwitz together.

In the epilogue, we learn that Eva has forgiven Dr. Mengele. She explains that anger and hatred are seeds of war, while forgiveness is the seed for peace. 1n 1984, Eva and her sister Miriam founded CANDLES (Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors).

I feel that this book is truly remarkable. The atrocities of WWII are difficult to explain to younger individuals, but the particular atrocities of Dr. Mengele are that much more difficult. The authors did an amazing job at toning down the subject matter enough to allow a younger audience to learn from Eva’s experience. I read this book with my 10-year-old daughter and although some parts of the book brought tears of sadness to both our eyes, we also shed tears of relief and admiration for this amazing woman and her sister. Although I’ve read many other books about WWII, I still learned from this book, as did my daughter.
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May 08, 2011 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-booklist

I received this from Netgalley.

Summary: Eva Mozes Kor was 10 years old when she arrived in Auschwitz. While her parents and two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers, she and her twin, Miriam, were herded into the care of the man known as the Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele. Mengele's twins were granted the privileges of keeping their own clothes and hair, but they were also subjected to sadistic medical experiments and forced to fight daily for their own survival, as most of the twins...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Kimberly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, 2012-bookshelf, yltojanchallenge

I generally don't read things about the Holocaust in fact I think I've only read a dozen books about it in my entire life, it is not because I don't care and it is not because I'm not interested because I do and I am. I just get bogged down reading other things.
So last night I stayed up and read and finished this book in one sitting. This is the Memoir of Eva Mozes Kor that focuses on her life when she was used as a guinea pig for Dr. Josef Mengele along side her identical twin sister Miriam wh...more I generally don't read things about the Holocaust in fact I think I've only read a dozen books about it in my entire life, it is not because I don't care and it is not because I'm not interested because I do and I am. I just get bogged down reading other things.
So last night I stayed up and read and finished this book in one sitting. This is the Memoir of Eva Mozes Kor that focuses on her life when she was used as a guinea pig for Dr. Josef Mengele along side her identical twin sister Miriam when they were just 10 years old.
The atrocities both her and her sister went through were horrific. They were ripped away from their parents and older sisters because they were twins and Dr. Josef Mengele the "Angel of Death" wanted to use them to experiment on hoping to find away to perfect a way to make the Aryan race by studying twins.
Eva, the dominant twin though being younger than her sister Miriam became the strong one while they suffered in the concentration camps. The two sisters used each other to push each other forward and stay alive. Even when Eva was injected with a needle that resulted in her getting sick her twin Miriam went a week without eating her meager rations so that her sister Eva, would be able to eat because she was sick the nurses weren't feeding her, giving her water or medicine and were just waiting for the sickness to take her. Imagine being that 10 year old girl who only received a piece of bread two inches big to eat every day giving it up in hopes that her sister would get better.
And get better she did.
When Eva was finally reunited with her sister she found her to be a shadow of her former self. While Eva was isolated in the hospital Miriam was put in solitary confinement and lost the will to live. Through sheer determination Eva found a way to keep her dear twin alive by stealing from the Nazis until her sister returned from that dark place she retreated to within herself.
Shortly after they were liberated from the concentration camp by the Soviets and after much hardship including losing each other for 24 hours they managed with help of one of the organizations at the time and a woman they knew before the war made it back to their old home, hopeful that their mother, father and two sisters would be at home, that they escaped the horrible concentration camps.
When they returned home, they were met with the dilapidated sight of their old house and a cousin who took them to their aunt who they lived with until they moved to Israel where the twins grew into young women.
Eva became a draftswoman and Miriam a Nurse. Then one day Eva met a man who she would later marry and move to America with. Though she hated the thought of leaving her sister she did and made a life for herself and had two children.
She went on to do great things including starting an organization with Miriam for the survivors of Josef Mengele's Twin experiments. Then in 1993 due to an injection she received after years of kidney problems Miriam passed away.
Despite everything she went through Eva was able to rise above the hate and was able to forgive the Nazi's who tortured her and so many others.
This was a heart wrenching account of the atrocities suffered in World War II from the eyes of a child and I feel privledged to have read this book. Eva and all the people who suffered during that time have my utmost respect.
This book is perfect for all audiences 12 years old and up. It is written in a way that is neither too simple nor too complex. It is my hope that in today's turbulent world that these things don't happen again.

*I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.
★ ★ ★ ★
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Apr 02, 2011 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I would like to thank net Galley as well as the publishers for allowing me to read this book. I don't believe it was an advance reader copy because the book was published in 2009 but I still enjoyed reading it none-the-less.

This is a young adult version of Eva Mozes Kor's original book, Echoes from Auschwitz: Dr. Mengele's Twins: The Story of Eva and Miriam Mozes. This book tells the story of Eva Mozes and her twin sister Miriam, one of many pairs of Jewish twins sent to Auschwitz and then exper...more I would like to thank net Galley as well as the publishers for allowing me to read this book. I don't believe it was an advance reader copy because the book was published in 2009 but I still enjoyed reading it none-the-less.

This is a young adult version of Eva Mozes Kor's original book, Echoes from Auschwitz: Dr. Mengele's Twins: The Story of Eva and Miriam Mozes. This book tells the story of Eva Mozes and her twin sister Miriam, one of many pairs of Jewish twins sent to Auschwitz and then experimented on by the Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele.

The book begins with the childhood of the two in Portz, Romania with their mother, father, and two elder sisters. They were the apple's of their parents' eyes and were doted on by their mother quite profusely. They seemed to have had a very good childhood, that is until the influence of Hitler entered their small town and turned them into the supposed villains.

As with most stories of the Holocaust the Mozes family eventually found themselves in a packed railway car bound for the concentration camp known as Auschwitz. When the family finally arrived they were separated, the twins were taken under Mengele's wing, while the four other members were never to be seen again.

The remaining parts of the story tell of the terrible treatment that both of the girls received under Mengele and his henchman's care. All of the diseases thrust upon them and the almost assured death that would befall them sooner rather than later because of these many diseases injected into their otherwise healthy bodies.

The story is also one of, as stated by the title, survival. How Eva, the more willful of the two, managed to overcome a deadly illness and took care of her sister who had almost completely given up on ever getting out of Auschwitz alive. The actions of Eva to keep not only herself but her twin alive were really inspiring. I can't imagine what I would have done had I been in Eva's position. I wondered throughout my reading about how very lonely she must have felt being the protector of her sister at the extremely young age of 10. I think I would feel a large amount of resentment not only for my parents who couldn't protect me but also for my sister who let herself be taken care of versus standing up and doing so for herself.

I found that Eva is a completely inspiring character and someone I wish I could be more like. This book makes everything about her life and the time in which she lived easy for middle school aged children to understand. All the more difficult phrases or terms were explained and made it possible for pretty much anyone to read and understand the dire nature of the twins' predicament. I think the writing could be a little cleaner in terms of all the flowery adjectives but beyond that a very well done story. I think that while the galley itself, if read in Adobe, was formatted perfectly, the Kindle version was extremely difficult to read. There were random numbers within the text and the text that went with the images didn't show up on the correct pages.

All in all, a very moving story that I think anyone with interest in this topic should read. I am hoping to go to Indiana this summer and visit the CANDLES Museum.(less)

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