Eva Mozes Kor

Eva Mozes Kor, born in Romania on January 31, 1934, and later a survivor of the Holocaust in World War II, went through a tough time at Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. She and her twin sister Miriam underwent experiments conducted by SS Doctor Josef Mengele. Regrettably, her parents and two elder sisters did not make it through the gas chambers at Birkenau.

In 1984, Eva established CANDLES, an organization dedicated to assisting survivors of Mengele's experiments. She aimed to educate individuals about eugenics, the Holocaust, and the significance of forgiveness. She found and connected with 122 other survivors through CANDLES. What made Eva known worldwide was her public forgiveness of the Nazis after meeting Hans Münch. This remarkable story was later featured in the documentary "Forgiving Dr. Mengele" in 2006.

Eva was active in various memorial services and projects, spreading awareness about the horrors of the Holocaust. She also wrote or co-wrote six books, sharing her experiences and promoting the power of forgiveness. Even though her journey was filled with pain, Eva Mozes Kor dedicated her life to educating people about the past and emphasizing the strength found in forgiveness.

Early Life

Eva Mozes was born in 1934 in Porţz, Romania, to Alexander and Jaffa Mozes, the sole Jewish inhabitants in their agricultural village. She had three siblings: Edit, Aliz, and her twin sister Miriam.

In 1940, when Eva and Miriam were just five years old, their village and Northern Transylvania were taken over by Hungary due to the Second Vienna Award. Then, in the spring of 1944, when Germany occupied Hungary, Eva's family was sent to the regional ghetto at Somlyócsehi (now Cehei, Romania) in Szilágysomlyó (now Şimleu Silvaniei, Romania). Life in the ghetto was challenging; they didn't have proper housing and had to create makeshift tents using sheets. Following a few weeks, they were transferred to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

In simpler terms, Eva Mozes and her family faced upheaval when their village changed hands during World War II. Later, they endured harsh conditions in a regional ghetto before being transported to the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp.

The Holocaust

Eva Mozes Kor, along with her twin sister Miriam and their family, was transported from the Cehei ghetto to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in May 1944. After a challenging four-day journey in crowded cattle cars, they reached Auschwitz II-Birkenau. During the selection process at the camp, an SS guard separated Eva and Miriam from their family upon discovering they were twins. It was a heartbreaking moment for Eva, as it was the last time she saw her mother, who desperately tried to resist the separation.

For the next nine months, the twins endured distressing experiments conducted by SS Doctor Josef Mengele. Eva recounted her weekly experiences in the documentary "Forgiving Dr. Mengele." On certain days, they were subjected to lengthy sessions of being naked in a room with other twins, where every part of their bodies was measured. Other days involved visits to a blood lab, where Eva's arms were tied to restrict blood flow, and she underwent blood withdrawal and multiple mysterious injections. After some injections, she fell seriously ill with a high fever, swollen limbs, and painful skin. Mengele predicted her death within two weeks, but she miraculously survived, enduring a challenging recovery in the hospital barracks.

Eva also shared harrowing details of experiments on other twins, including cross-blood transfusions to change sexes, castration, and connecting blood vessels and organs to create Siamese twins who suffered for three days until succumbing to gangrene. She also discussed Dr. Mengele's unsettling experiments on the reproductive organs of twins, including an effort to link the urinary tract of a 7-year-old girl to her colon.

Auschwitz was liberated by the Red Army on January 27, 1945, signifying the conclusion of their harrowing experience. Initially, Eva, Miriam, and approximately 180 surviving children were relocated to a convent in Katowice, Poland, repurposed as an orphanage. Persistently, they located Rosalita Csengeri, an acquaintance of their mother who also had twin daughters subjected to Mengele's experiments, in a nearby displaced person's camp. Csengeri assumed responsibility for Eva and Miriam, facilitating their journey back to Romania. This marked a hopeful turn in the sisters' journey after enduring the horrors of Auschwitz.

Aftermath

Following World War II, Eva and Miriam resided in Cluj, Romania, alongside their Aunt Irena, who, too, had survived the war. They attended school and tried to recover from their difficult experiences at Auschwitz while adapting to life under Communist rule. When they turned 16 in 1950, both sisters received permission to leave Romania and moved to Israel. They served in the Israeli army, with Eva dedicating eight years to the Israeli Army Engineering Corps, where she rose to the rank of Sergeant Major. During their adaptation to post-Holocaust life, they enrolled in an agricultural school.

Eva wed Michael Kor in 1960, who, like her, was an American citizen and a survivor of the Holocaust. The couple moved to the United States, settling in Terre Haute, Indiana, where Eva became a U.S. citizen in 1965. They raised two children, but life in Terre Haute was challenging. Discussion of the Holocaust was infrequent, even among survivors, resulting in a lack of support for Eva. She faced difficulties, such as being the target of pranks and even having a swastika and antisemitic words painted on her home.

As an adult, Eva experienced health problems she believed were linked to her treatment at Auschwitz. To support her sister Miriam, who had kidney problems after pregnancy, Eva selflessly donated one of her kidneys. Despite her efforts, Miriam succumbed to kidney cancer in 1993. Both resilience and challenges marked Eva's life as she navigated the aftermath of the Holocaust and its impact on her and her family.

Activism and Social Work

In April 1978, Eva Kor gained widespread respect after being interviewed during the airing of the NBC miniseries "Holocaust" with Meryl Streep and James Woods. In 1978, along with her sister Miriam in Israel, Eva started finding other survivors of the experiments. In 1984, she founded CANDLES, an acronym for "Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors," and remained its president until her death.

Her first return to Auschwitz in 1984 was a pledge to share her family's story. Upon the confirmation of Dr. Mengele's remains in Brazil, Eva expressed dissatisfaction. In 1986, during a U.S. Capitol remembrance ceremony attended by Vice President George H. W. Bush and Elie Wiesel, she insisted on further evidence regarding Mengele, resulting in a notable incident involving Capitol police.

In the 1990s, Eva became more controversial by publicly forgiving all Nazis, including Mengele and Hitler. While emphasizing it was her stance, her forgiveness campaign became a central part of her legacy. Eva Kor's life story is marked by her resilience, activism, and commitment to forgiveness despite the horrors she endured during the Holocaust.

Until her passing, Eva Kor remained incredibly active, traveling the world to give lectures and presentations. She even provided guided tours of Auschwitz, returning there many times, often with friends and community members, especially during the summer. In 1999, Eva took legal action against the pharmaceutical company Bayer for its involvement in the human experiments conducted at the camps. Following negotiations, an agreement resulted in the establishment of a $5 billion fund for the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility, and Future.

Eva maintained a small Holocaust museum in Terre Haute, but sadly, it was firebombed in 2003. In 2007, Eva worked with Indiana state legislators Clyde Kersey and Tim Skinner to enact a law that made Holocaust education mandatory in secondary schools. She further extended her advocacy to documentaries, including CNN's "Voices of Auschwitz" in January 2015 and "Incredible Survivors" in 2016.

On January 23, 2016, Channel 4 broadcasted a British documentary titled "The Girl Who Forgave the Nazis," which focused on the encounter between Eva Kor and Oskar Gröning. In 2016, Eva Kor participated in a special project by the USC Shoah Foundation called New Dimension in Testimony. This technology made a virtual version of her, like a hologram, that could answer questions as if she were present. Even after her death, Lesley Stahl interviewed a holographic representation of Eva on the television program 60 Minutes.

A documentary titled "Eva: A-7063" debuted on April 5, 2018, at Butler University in Indianapolis. Narrated by Ed Asner, the film includes interviews with Elliott Gould, various Holocaust historians, and people from Eva Kor's life. It has been shown on PBS.

As an adult, Eva believed that forgiving those who did terrible things to her in the concentration camps was crucial for her healing. She dedicated months to composing letters to those who had caused her harm, including one addressed to "The Angel of Death." Though writing these letters was difficult, she felt it made her a happier and healthier person. Despite not garnering unanimous agreement, Eva firmly believed that opting to forgive was the most beneficial decision for her and the morally correct course of action.

Death

On July 4, 2019, Eva Kor passed away in Kraków, Poland, while she was with a CANDLES group visiting Auschwitz. Eva used to make this trip every year, sharing her childhood memories and providing tours from her perspective as a survivor. Later, on July 12, Eva was remembered in a radio program called Last Word on BBC Radio 4. The program provided a glimpse into her life and the influence she exerted on others.

Awards

Eva Kor received recognition from four Indiana governors, earning prestigious awards like the Sagamore of the Wabash Award twice, Indiana's Distinguished Hoosier Award, and the Sachem Award in 2017, the highest honor in the State of Indiana. In April 2017, she was appointed as the Grand Marshal for the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade.

In May 2015, Eva received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Butler University in Indianapolis. She was also honored with the 2015 Wabash Valley Women of Influence Award, the 2015 Anne Frank Change the World Award from the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights in Boise, Idaho, and the 2015 Mike Vogel Humanitarian Award.

Acknowledging her resilience and compassion, Eva was celebrated at the 24th Annual ADL in Concert Against Hate on November 8, 2018. In 2020, she was posthumously granted the 'Friend of Education' award by the Indiana State Teachers Association.

Eva Kor received more than 30 awards from various service organizations, governmental bodies, and universities, including three honorary doctorates.distinctive peace sign was commissioned in Indianapolis. The 53-foot-tall portrait, completed in November 2020, aims to portray her as "larger than life," emphasizing her impact. The mural now exists alongside those honoring other notable Hoosiers such as Kurt Vonnegut and Mari Evans.

Conclusion

Eva Mozes Kor, who survived the Holocaust, spent her life promoting forgiveness, education, and healing. Despite enduring terrible experiments in Auschwitz, she started CANDLES, found other survivors, and even forgave the Nazis. Eva earned many awards, including the top honor in Indiana. She spoke out for Holocaust education, testified in trials, and used new technology to share her story. Her passing in 2019 signified the conclusion of an extraordinary journey that served as an inspiration to many. In Indianapolis, a big painting of Eva shows her lasting impact, reminding everyone of her commitment to peace, strength, and making the world a better place.