Lisa Rojany

After seeing an exhibit at the Indiana Historical Society featuring a hologram of Eva Kor answering questions about her life, I wanted to know more about her story. This book is a slim 140 pages and was a perfect way to explore her experience in her own words. From the prosperous farm she grew up on with her twin sister to their persecution for their Jewish faith, it was a heartbreaking tale. Time after time she almost died in Auschwitz, but she survived in order to save her sister. One show more memorable moment was when she spoke about raising her children in Indiana. She survived a death camp, communist rule in Romania after the war, serving in the Israeli army, and moving to a new country where she didn't speak the language. All of that to be harassed by teens in the community who painted swastikas on her home. My heart broke for her. Her unbelievable choice to forgive the Nazi doctors who experimented on her is shocking and inspiring.

"At Auschwitz dying was so easy. Surviving was a full-time job." show less

I don't know that there are many narratives for youth about the experience of twins during the holocaust, but this is worth starting with. The author recalls how she and her sister received "special" treatment as twins at Auschwitz, serving as unwilling subjects of Dr. Josef Mengele's horrific medical experiments (he is the "Angel of Death" as referred to in the title). Eva's determination to survive and save her sister is a constant theme and you marvel that two ten-year-old kids, ripped show more from their families and subjected to atrocious conditions, found the emotional and physical wherewithal to make it out alive. Damning and inspiring. show less

I approached this book with some trepidation. How would it be possible to write a book about surviving Josef Mengele's twin experiments at Auschwitz? How would it be possible to teach children about this horror without traumatizing them into lifelong nightmares?

Some of my trepidation comes from my own perception of Josef Mengele as the most member of the Nazi party. He was the living template for every doctor in every horror story ever - both before and after he was alive. The coldness and show more brutality of his actions, couched in the guise of Important Science are among the most shocking things I've known about. When I first read about him as an adult he appeared in my nightmares regularly causing stark, raving terror every single time.

Surviving the Angel of Death took my breath away. Not only is it completely age appropriate, it is also one of the most inspiring stories of human endurance, sisterhood, and forgiveness I've ever read. It's a book that, along with The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank's diary) should be read by everyone. It's not about the history, although that matters, it's about the human spirit - perhaps the sturdiest thing we all possess.

I have been reading about and practicing some elements of Buddhism for many years. I try, most of all, to practice mindfulness and compassion in every part of my life. Sometimes I'm much more successful than others. The one stumbling block in my life has always been forgiveness. Part of me still believes in an Old Testament sort of notion that some acts are forever unforgivable. Ms. Kors, the subject of a documentary, has spent much of her later life speaking and teaching on the Holocaust and forgiving those who did such terrible things to herself and her family. Everything I've read about the importance of forgiveness and that it is a gift you give yourself coalesced for me in reading Ms. Kors talk about her life. It's made it much easier to start working on forgiveness and, I think, will be life-changing in many ways I can't imagine right now.

This is a powerful story and a powerful book. It will haunt you and inspire you to rise above, to celebrate life's blessings. A truly beautiful and life-changing read. show less

The body of this book is an important first-hand account of life in a Nazi death camp, but it's the epilogue that makes this book extraordinary. Although Eva and her twin Miriam survived Auschwitz together, the experiments that Miriam was subjected to stunted her kidneys and eventually killed her. Alluding to the special bond that exists between twins, and to help us understand the dimension of this loss, Eva writes "she was not only my sister, she was my other self." Many years later, when show more Kor locates a Nazi willing to bear witness to the gassing procedure, and to confess publicly on the anniversary of Emancipation Day, she is grateful. She wonders how to thank him. After 10 months of deliberation, she finally decides to offer him her forgiveness. Controversial perhaps, but the personal revolution she experienced as a result precipitated her own healing and transformation. This is a powerful and inspiring book. show less