Surviving the Angel of Death
by Eva Mozes Kor
Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2021
Tanglewood

"Forgiveness is a seed for peace. It is the ultimate act of self healing."
When I heard Eva speak this was the main theme of her talk. I found it very interesting that she could forgive.
I also watched her documentary and was deeply moved by her message. So I came to this book we some "pre-knowledge."
This book is very factual. With all books of this type I have to read them slow to let me soul "heal". It is a short book. Hard to read but important to grasp.
The Romanian twins Eva and Miriam Kor end up in Mengele's Auschwitz, normally a sure death sentence, but are able to defy the odds. It is heartbreaking to read about how close the girls were, and how broken Miriam became when Eva was separated from her. We know there is hope, however, since Eva obviously lives to write this book. And there is forgiveness in her heart, which she would like the world to heed. Very important message in these times.
5 stars

Surviving the Angel of Death (The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz) is the true story of Eva and Miriam Mozes and their horrific experiences under the hands of Josef Mengele, a Nazi officer and physician at Auschwitz known for performing deadly experiments on prisoners.

This is a beautifully written and poignant memoir, on a very difficult subject matter, aimed towards a young adult audience. I read this in one sitting with tears streaming down my face. It's a book of survival and a book of forgiveness. But as a Jew myself, I will never forgive the atrocities my people faced during The Holocaust. It is incredibly important everyone educates themselves on what happened and how hatred was able to spread like a plague. Honour the memories of all the innocent lives that were lost.

This book serves as a reminder: Never Again. Never Forget.

Am Yisrael Chai.

In Eva's words, "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, no more Auschwitzes."

This is a heartbreaking but well written story that deals well with some very sensitive issues. It depicts the atrocities of the Holocaust whilst also introducing some characters you completely feel for and root for:

This was a very informative book and I’m glad I had the chance to read it and learn about survivors of the Mengele experiments. I have never really researched the Mengele experiments and so it was interesting to a nonfiction story about it.
This was a very emotional book as it goes through what happened before the camp, while in the camp, and then post camp. I’m glad the book went into some of the details that happened after liberation because it showed that Eva and Miriam were still suffering after they were rescued.
Hearing about Eva meeting with the nazi officer was interesting and I think her opinions on forgiveness are some of the most important lines in this book. “Forgiveness is only for you/people have to feel safe to forgive”. That whole paragraph on p. 145 stuck out to me, but those were two of my favorite lines.
I was not a fan of the writing style. In my opinion it presented the facts and that was it. It felt like the book would go “this happened and then this happened and my thoughts on it” and for the heavy material in this book and the fact that this happened when Eva was a kid makes sense, but I was not a fan of it.
Another thing I was not a fan of was that sometimes there would be pictures in the middle of the chapters. I wish that the pictures were between the chapters and not in the middle.
The last thing I’m going to mention is the line after Eva picks up a photo and what I think is one of the most emotional lines in the book: This was the only proof I had that once, not so long ago, I had a family.

Surviving the Angel of Death (The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz) by Eva Mozes Kor; Lisa Rojany Buccieri is the story of Eva and Miriam Mozes and their terrifying ordeal at the hands of Joseph Mengele, the Nazi doctor known as the Angel of Death. In Eva’s words, she details what her world was like in the 1940’s in Romania before her family and her Jewish neighbors were rounded up, herded on railroad cars only to find they had arrived at Auschwitz, the notorious labor and death camp. Eva details the selection process, losing her parents and elder sisters, only to be spared because she was a twin.

Eva details the lack of food, sanitary conditions and the horrible experiments that they were subjected to. Though scared and constantly on guard, Eva shows us a side of her that is resilient and determined to stay alive. At one point she almost loses her life, but her determination to live, stay with her twin sister and leave the camp at the end of the war was always in the forefront of her mind. She was always resolute after the Nazi’s took everything, she and her sister would survive.

Eva also details what it was like to be liberated from the camp and what it was like to return to her home after the war. Not feeling like she belonged and ostracized by her neighbors, Eva was determined to go to Palestine, a land her father wanted his family to immigrate to. Once winning passage there, Eva and her sister found a peace and a solace that she desperately longed for after the war. The book goes on to give details of her life after Palestine, her marriage and journey to America and her determination to educate the world on the atrocities of WWII.

I really appreciated this book. It was a story that needed to be told as other stories like this need to be told. Eva’s determination to keep her and her sister alive and let the world know of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazi’s and the horrors and conditions of the camps was essential. I appreciated her story as well as the Afterward that detailed her life as a wife, mother and advocate for survivors while living in the USA. Her determination to educate the world on the Holocaust and her determination to forgive her oppressors was amazing. Her whole life was dedicated to this cause. This book serves as a reminder that we must never forget!

I want to thank NetGalley and Tanglewood Publishing for an ARC of Surviving the Angel of Death (The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz) by Eva Mozes Kor; Lisa Rojany Buccieri. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I read this book. It's hard to believe what she went through. I am planning on going to the museum in Tere Haute, Indiana. I realize that things aren't so bad when I read what people went through in the Holocaust.

This novel reiterates the true experiences of those at the hand of evil. Nazi Germany was a time of violence and their horrible beliefs of eugenics led to one of the worst genocides in history. This novel came at the perfect time as I am teaching the Holocaust to my Year 10 History class and what I have been teaching them has come up in this novel. I highly recommend. These twins were so lucky to survive a truly horrid part of modern history.

Very poignant and heartfelt read. Just cannot possibly ever imagine what they went through. To stand up and be heard after it all is very much an achievement. The book is very well written. Difficult to read in parts. But you force yourself when you remember the worst part for you is to read about it. Not experience it.

I wish she talked more about Dr. Mengele and the experiences she and the twins had with him like the title implied. The majority of the short book is spent talking about events lead up to and after Nazi occupation.

Historical fiction is a huge favourite of mine and this is no different. I don't know how to put into words how this book affected me, in ways I never thought it would. The eloquently, beautiful writing and story telling just grips the reader, pulls them back in time (which is hard to do) and grips throughout the story.

It was so beautifully written and descriptive which can be so difficult given the story that is being told but Eva and Lisa just managed to perfectly. I don't want to say too much and give away and detail for any future readers but honestly amazing... I am buying a physical copy for my keeping.

Thank you to Lisa, Eva and Netgalley for allowing me this beautiful, moving and touching ARC.

Surviving the Angel of Death was heart breaking and beautiful all at the same time. Eva's courage, grace, strength and orneriness are to be admired.

I honestly don’t know what to say about this book. It is incredibly and beautifully written for the subject matter. Eva and her twin sister, Miriam, were ten years old when they arrived in Auschwitz. They were separated from their family, who died in the gas chambers, and they went into the care of the man known as the Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele. Subjected to sadistic medical experiments, Eva was forced to fight daily for her and her twin's survival.

I am grateful that Eva shared her story. She was an incredible strong person to forgive what was done to her. I'm glad she never negated that, despite criticism. She made it her mission to share her story and educate people. Teaching students that they can change things. This book continues to teach Evas lesson that no matter what happens forgiveness can change things.

I read this book in a sitting. It pulled me in and I enjoyed learning about Evas life after she and her sister were liberated.

I'm sure Eva Mozes Kor was a remarkable woman and what she went through as a Mengele twin in Auschwitz was awful. This book just didn't grab me, though. I liked it, but it didn't leave a deep impression.

Surviving the Angel of Death is a true story about twin sisters Eva Mozes Kor and her twin sister Miriam, along with their parents and two older sisters, were forced to leave their farm and home and taken to Auschwitz. The twins were just 10 years old. They were ripped from their mothers grasp, and forced to become essentially lab rats for Angel of Death: Dr. Josef Mengele, whom preformed awful experiments on the girls as well as other twins in the camp.

In general, most people are aware on some level of the horrors that happened during The Holocaust. We've learned about it in school text books, likely seen a movie or read one of the previously released survivor stories, but none have given such a clear account of being forced to succumb to Dr. Mengele, as well as what life was like before their lives were turned upside down, the gradual then sudden change in the treatment of this family by their friends and neighbors.

There are no frills or fancy word play to make it easier to read. It's plain, it's raw and it's real. At once gut wrenching and heart warming, every word is a reminder of the evil that took place, of how thankful we should be for not having to experience what these sisters and thousands of others were forced to without reason.

This book should be required reading for children in school along with the other books taught on the subject. This book is perfect to inform and empathize and maybe gain inspiration from for children and adults alike.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for providing me a copy giving me the opportunity to share my honest opinions. Bless every single soul touched by the horrific catastrophe and let us all be reminded what happens when the wrong person is doing your thinking for you.

Wow, such a tragic and beautiful story. A reminder of the fragility of life. Good book! I would definitely recommend it.

I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars! A heartbreaking story told from the perspective of a child who endured the Holocaust and Mengele (who also was described as horrifying in The Tattooist of Auschwitz). I absolutely loved and devoured this book. Thank you Netgalley and Tanglewood Publishing for this ARC.

This is a memoir written by Eva Mozes Kor. Eva and her identical twin sister Miriam were twins sent to Birkenau and forced into Dr. Mengle’s experiments. Eva discusses how life was like at the camps she was forced to and her life after escaping the Angel of Death.

The information in this book is important because it’s not all common knowledge. A lot of Mengle’s experiments were kept under wraps and he ran off with the information of his horrid deeds.

I find it hard to actually rate this book though. The writing itself was not up to par but her memoir was touching. She promptly dragged you and was able to get the reader attached to her story. So do I judge the book on writing and errors, or do I judge the book on how important it is? Three stars for a mix of the two but know this: Eva has an amazing story.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. A memoir and story of forgiveness for Eva Mozes Kor. Such a tragic and horrific story for a young girl, and for so many people that endured what the Nazi regime did to people. Heartbreaking and heartwarming as Eva spent the latter years of her life forgiving what was done to her, her twin and others. Such an important story.

First I would like to thank the publisher and the authors for letting me access this copy here on netgalley. Secondly I would like to say that this was a terrible terrible time in history and should never be forgotten no matter what.

I honestly don’t know what to say about this book. I really enjoyed it, and I finished it in about 3 hours last night. I had to sleep on what I would say in my review. Part of me even though I do know that it’s true can not believe what Germans did to Jews and thinking of it makes my stomach turn at times.

I’m so glad that Eva took the time to tell her story. If you want a good Holocaust WW2 memoir with pictures then I really suggest you pick up this book. It was a fantastic and emotional read. I’m so glad that I got the chance to read it. I really loved how the version I read incorporated pictures and the fact that it went a little bit beyond what had happened to Eva and Miriam at Auschwitz as a Mengele twin.

I do wish though that we could have found out more about the types of experiments he did. I’m quite curious why he thought there was some sort of secret in the genetics to being a twin. He was definitely a mad scientist/doctor type.
Full review will be on my blog linked below 3/10/2021

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I've always felt a huge connection to WWII, the Holocaust especially. I'm not sure if I'm the type of person who believes in past lives, but if I was, I would almost bet that one of mine was lived during that time period. From a young age, I've heard about the horrors of the Mengele twins, but until this novel, I had never read an eyewitness account. I can't imagine the horrors that Eva and her sister went through; I thought Anne Frank was too young to experience all that she did, but Eva and her sister were even younger. Their stoicism and bravery astounds me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading her story; her narrative has a down-to-earth feel different from others I've read that only serves to make it more authentic. She isn't afraid to tell it like it is. Also different is the fact that Eva's narrative doesn't stop after she is liberated from the camps; you get to go along with her as she travels from place to place, desperately searching for a safe place to call home. After what she witnessed, I can't blame her for marrying a man she didn't 100% love; he offered security, something she'd long craved. I felt her emotions as she immigrated to a completely new country, confusion and hop leaping off the pages. I cheered as she slowly carved out a new life where she didn't have to be afraid.
Perhaps the best thing about this novel is something I wasn't even expecting. After getting married, Eva immigrated with her new husband to the United States, settling in Terre Haute, Indiana and starting a Holocaust museum to educate new generations. As it turns out, the world really is small. My husband grew up for 10 years in Terre Haute, and his family witnessed Eva speaking at their church when he was young. His mom still remembers "that tiny little woman, full of fire and fervor." When she told me that, I felt tears come to my eyes; it was like the story had come full circle. Eva made it her mission in life to educate others and pass on her wisdom; I bet there's no shortage of people whose lives have intersected and connected with hers.