Eva Mozes Kor
After a 70-hour ordeal without food or water, the 10 year old Eva and her family stumble from the packed cattle car onto the selection platform at Auschwitz.
When Eva and her twin sister Miriam were six, the Mozes family was the only Jewish family in their village in Romania and experienced every day the prejudice against the Jews. During the Nazi-occupation the family was transported to the regional ghetto in 1944 and a few weeks later with other Jewish prisoners to Auschwitz.
In the mass of people that arrived, Eva and Miriam gripped their mother's hands. Eva looked around and realized her father and two older sisters were gone. She never saw them again. Soon after, the girls were ripped apart from their mother. Forever.
Eva and Miriam became part of a group of children who were used as human guinea pigs in genetic experiments under the direction of Dr. Josef Mengele. Approximately 1500 sets of twins – 3000 children – were abused and most died as a result of these experiments. Eva herself became deathly ill, but through sheer determination, she stayed alive and helped Miriam survive. Approximately 200 children were found alive by the Soviet Army at the liberation of the camp on January 27, 1945. The majority of the children were Mengele twins. Eva and Miriam Mozes were among them.
It wasn't until immigrating to Israel in 1950 that Eva and Miriam first felt free and were no longer afraid of persecution because they were Jews. There she received a good education. While living in Israel, Eva met her future husband Michael Kor, a Buchenwald survivor and American tourist. In 1960 they married in Tel Aviv and moved to the United States where they raised two children.
For nearly forty years, little was known about the now infamous twin experiments. The selection of twins for genetic experiments had not been a topic of Holocaust conversations. As a result of the Mozes twins' efforts, 122 individual Mengele twins living across ten countries and four continents were reconnected.
Fifty years after the liberation of Auschwitz, Eva returned to the site and stood where so many were tragically murdered. To the surprise of many, she then freed herself from her victim status. An incredible weight of suffering was lifted and she felt strong. Offering her forgiveness to those who committed the horrendous crimes against her, healed Eva, even though she could never forget and or change what happened.
In 1995, Eva opened a small museum in Terre Haute, Indiana. The museum housed various artifacts from Auschwitz and documents relating to Dr. Mengele. Its purpose was to educate. Thousands of people, mostly school-aged children, have visited the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center since it opened in 1995.
Ignited by hatred, an arsonist destroyed the museum in November 2003. Surviving the death camps taught Eva "to never, ever give up." The need for the message of peace and forgiveness was made even more evident by this act of hatred. The attack strengthened the organization's resolve and brought it into the public eye. Through the generosity of countless supporters, the center rose from the ashes and was re-opened to the public in April 2005.
After more than twenty-five years, Eva remains an integral part of the organization. As a revered public speaker and powered by her never-give-up attitude, Eva has emerged from a life filled with trauma as a tireless educator who advocates reconciliation. Her lectures and guided tours are key elements of the educational mission. She has returned to Auschwitz on several pilgrimages and will come to Weimar and Buchenwald in August 2010.