The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz - Surviving the Angel of Death

I was disappointed, to the fact this book did not go into detail enough. It was like she was 10 yrs. old, and then she married an American. For sister dying of kidney problems who she, claimed Mengele caused. I wouldn't recommend this book, save your money...

Very informative. Quick read for adults, as it's written for young readers. The author, a Holocaust survivor, was sent to a concentration camp with her twin along with her parents and siblings. Bought this along with DVD - Forgiving Dr. Mengele.

I saw Eva personally give a speech in Billings MT. It was a record crowd so I knew I would be waiting a long time to get an autographed copy of this book. I ordered it on the store right away and I am so glad I did. It is a quick, interesting read that added to the speech she gave. Having seen the Dachau death camp in the 1980's, I have always been a learning student of the Holocaust. To hear a survivor's story plus read about it, I felt truly honored.

Unbelievable what they went thru but they are also hipocrites they went and stole other peoples land when thousands of family's were forced out of there homes there lives and childrens lives turned upside down!!! When the Palestinians came back to there land there homes they soon found out that they were being forced to live under an occupation but that somehow is OK its not wrong just like its not wrong for them to bomb and shoot innocent women and children raid homes in the middle of the night !! But they are the only victims what bs

I firmly believe that we should never forget what happened to innocent people including children during the Holocaust so whenever I see a book written by a survivor of the Holocaust, I always read it. It is sometimes very difficult to read about the suffering of people and their loved ones but I feel that I owe it to them to listen to their story.
Eva Mozes Kor, and her twin sister Miriam were only 10 years old when they were taken to Auschwitz with their family and quickly separated from them only to be subjected to sadistic experiments by "The Angel of Death", Josef Mengele while the rest of their family were taken to the gas chambers.
At first glance, the twins seemed to be "lucky" in that they were able to keep their own clothing and hair but the experiments they suffered made it very clear that they were not lucky at all.
I won't get into the horrific experiences these girls suffered but I will say that I cannot believe the strength of the girls spirits and their will to survive.
The story is written very well and I found myself reading it in one setting. I usually have to put these types of books down but not this one.
This is one of those books that I will not forget; not only because of the subject matter but also because of the sheer courage of two little girls and their unconditional love for one another. I want to thank the publishers (via Netgalley) for allowing me to read this. I also want to thank Eva Mozes Kor for having the strength and determination to talk and write about something that must be so painful. Definitely a must read.
I received a copy of this book from the publishers (via Netgalley) for free in exchange for my honest review.

Surviving the Angle of Death is an astonishing book about twin ten year old girls who are torn away from their family at Auschwitz in 1940’s Germany. Because they were twins they were kept alive so that they could be experimented on by the angle of death, Dr. Josef Mengele. His purpose was to create a blond haired, blue eyed army for Germany. Mengele used “his” twins to continue his anthropological studies as well as research genetics using the prisoners in Auschwitz for human experimentation. Mengele was interested in people with heterochromia iridum (eyes of two different colors), dwarfs, people with physical abnormalities, and identical twins. This is where Eva and Miriam met Dr. Mengele. Twins were examined and measured weekly to document their physical characteristics by Mengele or one of his assistants. Some of Mengele’s experiments included unnecessary amputation of limbs, intentionally infecting one twin with any number of diseases, and transfusing the blood of one twin into the other. Many of the victims died while undergoing these procedures, Eva herself almost falling victim to his form of science. If one twin died, Mengele would kill the other with a coliform injection to the heart so that comparative post-mortem reports could be filed.

Eva Mozes Kor’s story inspires people to never give up even in the hardest of times. Not many people lived through her experience long enough to pass their story along. Everyone, whether or not they want to admit it, has heard of the Holocaust. Personally, I had never heard of a story similar to Eva’s. This fact itself is tragic because in order for this never happen again we need to know the horror of this mas genocide. Eva and her sister Miriam’s story is heart wrenching in a way that so many could never understand. The physical and mental pain that they suffered was unethical. They were ten years old and ripped from their home and then their family then having to try to find the will to survive in a place filled with death. After the war the two girls had nowhere to go, their parents and sisters had been killed and they had no home. Miriam eventually died indirectly of Dr. Mengele. He had injected her with a substance that stunted the growth of her kidneys. Eva moved to America and married. She is living in Terre Haute, Indiana. I would recommend this book to everyone with all my heart, because reading Surviving the Angle of Death helps you grow as a person.

Rumors: Nazis, labor camps, Hitler and death. That is what Miriam and Eva’s mother thought they were until the Hungarian soldiers came knocking at their door and it’s her denial that had her wondering if perhaps things might had turned out differently had she reacted sooner. The writing is fascinating and interesting as Eva writes about her family and their lives being Jews during Hitler’s rein. Reading about the girls as they are harassed in school by their classmates as they read school books containing Jewish slurs and watch short films on how to capture and kill Jews, just made me boil inside. These two- 9 year-old girls find the strength to lean on one another, when their whole world inside their school was falling down on them. The author does a fantastic job clarifying the history of the area, informing the reader of the action taking place plus adding definitions of unfamiliar words along in the texts to keep the reader involved. As the family is rounded up, the girls celebrate their birthday surrounded with 7,000 other Jews and are put into a ghetto. Their time there is short but their memories are extensive as they board the railcars for destinations unknown. If you have read anything about the platforms at the concentration camps, you know how they separate the individuals as they stumble out into the fresh air. Every time I read about this, the relief and the dread overcomes me. As the girls get separated from their parents, it’s heartbreaking. These twin girls are now under special care which creates some unique problems of their own. Dr. Mengele is a doctor with his own agenda. Twins fascinate him and he wants to do medical treatments on them. This is definitely a book worth reading if you enjoy reading book from this time period. The author shares her story with honesty and spirit; she has a message to share to her readers. Having a father-in-law who was a prisoner of war, I am drawn to the stories that other survivors write about their experiences. I never want to feel what my father-in-law endured or what other survivors write about, their stories are quite enough. I am thankful that they share their stories with us for they are true heroes.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Tanglewood Press in exchange for an honest opinion.

This is a heartbreaking memoir from a woman who lived through the holocaust with her twin sister. They were subject to human experimentation at the hands of Josef Mengele. The book describes these experiences candidly but without excessive graphic language. The way it is written is neither softened or made harsher to get any point across. I have trouble saying I like this book - how can you like something that describes such a horrific time in history?
This book is written for a younger audience and is geared very well for that purpose. It includes photos and documents which all go along with her story very well. These inserts help put a lot of it into perspective - that these were real people as well as the events.
With the passage of time I feel this type of literature is growing more and more important as events like the holocaust become distant. We need literature that is actually readable so the youth of today can understand and empathize on a more personal level as opposed to just classroom texts.
I applaud the author and am in deep admiration for all that she has been able to accomplish and her willingness to speak out about her experiences.

I was a little worried how this subject matter would be handled as this book is geared towards teens, but the author does a wonderful job of giving just enough of the facts to convey the fear she went through as a prisoner at Auschwitz, without going into too much detail of the horror. I am sure this poor woman and her twin saw much more than is on these pages, but even what she wrote is beyond comprehension. It’s so important that these stories are shared, and I’m glad that there are books written for young people so no one ever forgets. This accounting of the Mozes twins’ young lives is incredibly sad but has a happy outcome for the two of them as they were able to withstand Dr. Joseph Mengele’s experiments and come out and live long lives. A short yet wonderfully poignant story.

Many of us will have seen the photographs and moving images of those 2 little girls at the head of a line of survivors walking out of Auschwitz and many of us, me included, would have asked ourselves "I wonder who they are, where they came from, how they survived that nightmare and where are they now?"; this book sheds light on all those questions and introduces you to a very brave little girl.

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

The words that came into my head as I was reading this book was how amazing, brave and inspirational Eva was and still is. For a 10 year old to have that level of insight and an unbelievably strong will to survive is humbling. You can feel the pain, the fear but also the love coming through the words and pages. Her descriptions of the horrors she, her twin sister and the others interred in that godforsaken place were told in a non-sensationalised way and without the usual shocking, graphic details. In some ways, this made it more upsetting - it was told from the eyes of a child and those eyes should never have seen the things that she saw.

Eva was careful to ensure that she make it known that in amongst all that evil, there were people who risked their lives for others - the supervisor who gave food in the infirmary and shared her birthday cake and the barracks full of Jewish women who kept a child hidden during their entire stay - just two instances. These acts of extreme bravery and selflessness provide hope that there is still some humanity.

I don’t know if I could ever forgive anyone who systematically murdered someone in my family let alone everyone in my family but Eva is obviously made of something else and her quote:

"Anger and hate are seeds that germinate war. Forgiveness is a seed for peace. It is the ultimate act of self-healing”

tells you all you need to know about her inner strength and the type of person she is.

Eva is an inspiration and her message of hope should be a mantra for us all:

"The 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 possible.
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"

This book is designed for Young Adults but, to be honest, I think anyone of any age could read this and should read this.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher, Tanglewood, for providing me with a copy in return for an honest review.

Imagine yourself in 1944 loving isolated and starving with only your twin sister. That is only part of the horror Eva Kor experienced in her book Surviving the Angel of Death. This book is an outstanding autobiography that tells the tale of a young girl and who sister who are taken to Auschwitz to be tested upon by Dr. Mengele. She endured much in her journey and stared death down many times in the process. She tells of how she was experimented and how they were treated above all others due to them being twins. However the conditions were still horrible and they were severely malnourished. This book does a very good job explaining what exactly was done to the twins experimented on and how it was done. This book also describes clearly how the barracks they were stored in were and the atrocities they came across. It does lack detail. However on who helped Dr. Mengele and where they were experimented on. In conclusion this is a very accurate and thrilling read showing how twins in Auschwitz were treated. Written by James Schemenauer

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

Just so we're all on the same page here I want you to know that this a review of Eva Mozes Kor's YA version of her memoir Echoes From Auschwitz. Surviving the Angel of Death is meant for a teen or more sensitive audience because it does not go into as much graphic detail as her full memoir does. There are still nightmarish scenes considering the subject matter, but keep in mind that this particular version is more YA-friendly.

Eva and Miriam are twins in Hungary when the Second World War breaks out. Since they're Jewish, Eva shows us how things steadily got worse for her family before they were finally rounded up and eventually sent to Auschwitz. Being twins, they heard the cry of "Zwillinge!" (Twins!) as the soldiers selected who would live and who would die. They were the `lucky' ones, the ones chosen by Dr. Joseph Mengele for his twin experiments at Auschwitz.

We learn about the horrible conditions the twins were kept in even though they were `special' and the experiments they were subjected to during their stay at Auschwitz. What really struck me about this memoir is the description of Dr. Mengele: "My first thought was how handsome he was, like a movie star." It really brings home the fact that these atrocities were not committed by movie villain caricatures, but by real people. For a young adult first learning about the Holocaust, I dare say that would be a rude awakening. But it really drives home the point that the Holocaust did happen and that the atrocities we all hear about now were committed by people just like us.

What I found the best about Surviving the Angel of Death was that Eva Mozes Kor wrote about the liberation of Auschwitz and included information about where she and Miriam ended up later on. She includes snippets of later on in her life where she started campaigning for Holocaust awareness and how she came to publicly forgive the Nazis. It's an intense personal journey and it's one I'm glad she's sharing in a more young adult friendly manner. Obviously I'm not saying teens can't read her full memoir, but rather that I think this is a good book if teens are just starting to learn about the Holocaust.

The formatting on my Kindle was a little weird at times, but that didn't even register for me. The fact is that this is an extremely emotional, honest memoir about one of the darkest periods in human history. It's well-written and informative, which is what it should be. I would highly recommend it to teens who are just starting to learn about the Holocaust or sensitive people who don't feel they're ready for the full version.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

Eva Mozes Kor and her sister Miriam Mozes were ten years old when they arrived at Auschwitz, a German concentration death camp. Selected by Josef Mengele, for his experiments on twins, they were injected with unknown substances. Eva describes the daily fight to survive. Her observations of medical procedures, deaths, and finally liberation by the Russian soldiers are anecdotal. The tattoos are external reflection of emotional scars and lost family. There is innocence reflective of young children as she acknowledges the risk of death others faced if they may even the smallest gestures of assistance. Yet, she did not shy away from the inhumane treatment Mengele or others inflicted on the prisoners.

Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz is one of the most chilling Holocaust books I have read. Eva Mozes Kor's harrowing experience with her twin sister at the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz, at the tender age of 10 years old shook me to my core. I have ready many, many Holocaust books written by survivors, but her story struck me as particularly horrific. Maybe it was the fact that she was only 10 years old or maybe just the way she explained her experience. She explains it as if she was still that 10 year old girl writing in her diary. It allowed me to see the Holocaust through the eyes of a child.

Either way, what really got to me was how their father tried to convince their mother to flee to Israel, but she refused based on her belief nothing like that could happen to them and she also didn't want to leave her ailing parents. I wondered while reading if I myself wouldn't have the same reaction as their mother. In today's world, don't we hear or see things happening in other places and think to ourselves "this would never happen here"? Also, in their case, Romania was the only home they had ever known.

Something else that stuck out was the way they were literally ripped from their mother's arm in an instant and never saw her again. I couldn't imagine at 10 years old being separated from my mother in that way. It truly broke my heart to hear how Eva tried to cope with this sudden loss. I'm amazed at how she also decided in that moment that she would survive at all costs....and she did. The things she endured while at Auschwitz no human let alone a child should ever have to experience. This book is proof that even at 10 years old, the human spirit will always endure. She never gave up the hope that one day they would be rescued and she would be alive when they did.

I recommend everyone read this book no matter how young or old if you truly want to have a better understanding of what the Jewish people went through during the Holocaust.

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 for my review from NetGalley.

In 1944, identical twins Eva and Miriam Mozes were only ten years old when they were selected by Dr. Josepf Mengele to be guinea pigs for his sadistic experiments. Although the sisters miraculously lived through their horrendous year in Auschwitz-Birkenau, their beloved parents and older siblings were not as fortunate. "Surviving the Angel of Death," by Eva Mozes Kor and Lisa Rojany Buccieri, is a searing look at the toll taken by the Nazi juggernaut as it rolled through Europe and annihilated the "enemies of the state," including law-abiding men, women, and children whose only transgression was the fact that they were Jews.

Mature young adults with an interest in the Holocaust will learn a great deal from this slim volume. Through the eyes of Eva, who is plucky and outspoken, we become acquainted with the close-knit Mozes family. They lived happily in Transylvania, Romania, and got along well with their gentile neighbors. As the war progressed, warning signs indicated that trouble was ahead. Eva's father suggested that they flee to Palestine, but his wife refused, since she loved her home and felt that the Germans would not bother to evacuate small towns. She did not take into account the legendary thoroughness of Hitler's willing executioners, and after the roundups began, it was too late to escape. Eva describes the ride in the cattle cars to Auschwitz, the selections, the stench from the crematoria ("It reminded me of burned chicken feathers"), the roll calls, the starvation and thirst, the lice and rat-infested barracks, and the helplessness that she and her sister felt when their parents and sisters disappeared. There is also an epilogue in which Eva recounts what she has done after the war. The black and white photos of Eva and her family, a smiling Josef Mengele, and a group of frightened and emaciated twins in the Mengele's laboratory are unforgettable.

"Surviving the Angel of Death" might induce nightmare in sensitive youngsters. However, for those who have a basic understanding of the brutal events that took place during the Second World War in Europe, this clearly written, straightforward, and deeply moving book makes clear how Hitler and his followers gradually tightened the noose in preparation for the Final Solution. Ms. Kor, who does a great deal of public speaking, deserved credit for revisiting what must be excruciating memories in order to further her goal of spreading love and creating a world with "no more wars, no more experiments without informed consent, no more gas chambers, no more bombs, no more hatred, no more killing...." Eva urges youngsters to avoid giving in to despair, since their dreams can come true and miracles do occur. It is heartening to note that this seventy-six year old woman who has been through so much continues to live an active and productive life.

Gold Star Award Winner!

When twins Eva and Miriam Mozes were ten years old, the Nazis invaded their home in Romania and forced their family onto a train that would take them to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

When they got off the train, their family became separated. They never knew what happened to their father and two older sisters, Aliz and Edit. Their mother, in a desperate attempt to save her youngest daughters, answered "Is that good?" after a soldier asked if they were twins.

"Good" was a subjective concept, because Eva and Miriam were immediately torn from their mother's arms, and she was sent to the gas chamber while they were taken to the laboratory barracks for those who would become Dr. Joseph Mengele's experiments. This book is the story of how they survived the horrors that ensued.

Adapted from Eva Mozes Kor's self-published memoir, ECHOES FROM AUSCHWITZ: DR. MENGELE'S TWINS, THE STORY OF EVA AND MIRIAM MOZES, this book gives a heartbreaking view into two Jewish children's lives during the Holocaust. Though the subject matter is graphic and sensitive, Eva Mozes Kor's breathtaking ability to forgive Joseph Mengele for his atrocities, as well as her ability to overcome unimaginable cruelties, provide hope for all children who have gone through terrible experiences.

Keep a box of tissues at hand, because this book is one of the most challenging emotional roller coasters I have ever read. Definitely worth reading for people of all ages.

Reviewed by: Theresa L. Stowell

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 twins went through - enough so that a young reader has an idea, but will not be terrified.

One of the most amazing messages in the memoir is the message of hope and forgiveness; a combination that is rarely read in a survivor's account. Eva Kor isn't filled with bitterness and hatred for the people who imprisoned and tried to kill her. Rather she openly forgives them all, even Mengele.

An amazing work, this memoir is easily accessible and readable by readers of all ages. Highly recommended.

Surviving the Angel of Death became a favourite book of mine the minute I began reading. Most of the historical memoirs I’ve read are lengthy, require background knowledge and overwrought. Surviving the Angel of Death is written in a simple, beautiful manner (I don’t believe I had to look up a single book in a dictionary; a vast contrast to most other books) and only focuses on the facts with small emotive icons. The other thing I loved was how informative the book was, and somebody with little knowledge of the holocaust is suitable to read it (although I knew most of the events expressed, it would have been the perfect book to begin with).

Firstly, the writing style the author utilizes is nothing short of wonderful. With every page, I empathise with the main character (the author themselves) and all the cruel taunting is not overly expressed… it’s said like a matter of fact, and left up to the reader to feel empathy. I think one of the most vital things about an emotional piece is that you don’t go into too much detail about how you felt; use language strong enough to convey this and set the event aside, letting the reader feel by their own standards. This was something this novel does beautifully, conveying an emotional journey with concise sentences, and leaving a lot unsaid; sometimes, it speaks louder than words.

Secondly, the concise writing also existed in the explanations. Whenever a rather unfamiliar word was used, it was then defined by a short sentence, or an entire scene where the author experiences the sight of this particular thing/place. The pictures used also served as an explanation, and I loved how the map showed a trail of their journey. Like I said earlier, I wish I’d stumbled across this book when I was first interested in the holocaust; it’s the perfect book, not in terms of content, but of writing style and explanations for those who’re interested in the historic event.

Surviving the Angel of Death had a lot of hope in its last few pages, despite the terrible (for a lack of better word) experiences these people had to suffer. Maybe this was the overall redeeming point in this memoir; unlike most other heartbreaking stories that stay this way, even in the very end, Surviving the Angel of Death was a poignant story of survival, love, family and a journey for a better life. It inevitably has a place on my favourites shelf.

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 of Death), and life after the liberation from the camp. The strength and awareness that Eva had at ten years old is remarkable and made for a page-turning story. I highly recommend this book to any and all. It is an easy read for adults and has enough details to keep an adult completed submerged yet still is gentle enough for kids around middle school/preteen age. It is written beautifully with a tone of encouragement and forgiveness which is an unexpected surprise given all that Eva and her twin lost.

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.

This book is about Eva and her identical twin sister and what they went through during the Holocaust. I did not realize at the time that this was more geared towards YA. The story itself was heart wrenching and I could feel what they went through, but to me this book is lacking depth, detail and emotion. For a YA it might be perfect but for me, just didn't strike a good balance.

I received this book through Netgalley for an honest review.

I don't read many history related books but the cover & title captured my eye. I was enthralled with the story of the Mengelee Twins and plan to give other history books a chance. The story is hard to read because of the emotions that it brings out, so grab a box of tissues. To read and imagine the horrors that occurred is beyond sad but to read & hear the uplifting tale of faith and determination.......I don't have the words to describe how glad I am to have had the opportunity to read this book. Must Read!!

Surviving the Angel of Death by Eva Moses Kor and Lisa Rojang Bucciere
Tanglewood, 2013
This is the true story of twin sisters who are the only ones in their family to survive the Holocaust. The girls are born to a wealthy family in Transylvania, Romania. When the Nazis rise to power, their neighbors turn on them and soon the whole family is headed to a concentration camp. The girls are chosen to be experimented on by Joseph Mengele for his infamous twin studies. They survive by strength, cunning, and luck as they are used as human guinea pigs. When finally liberated by the Allies they travel to Israel and later to the US, where they finally tell their story. Heartbreaking true story of a horrible time in human history

The book was excellent,written by a surviving twin,from one of the most horrific times in her life.
She not only survived,but kept her twin sister alive,as well.
They were only 10,when they were put in a cattle car and taken from their home in Romania to a concentration camp and used in hideous experiments by the mad Dr.
This set of twins,were the only survivor's of their immediate family.
Read the book,you won't easily forget it.

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.

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.

Fantastic book, I was worried about reading this because I wondered how graphic the book would be. But this story has been beautifully written with some very poignant moments.

I can not believe at the end of what Eva and Miriam had gone through Eva was so willing to offer forgiveness to the Nazi doctors that used the children as live experiments.

Great book well worth a read!

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.

The entire family ends up in a ghetto, where they live in tents, before they're taken to Auschwitz. From the departure to arrival conditions are horrible, but the best thing to do is stay together as a family. This doesn't happen when Eva and her twin, Miriam, are torn away from their sisters and parents. Twins are kept separate from everyone else because they're used in Dr. Josef Mengele's experiments.

This is a true story of survival. Eva had to stay strong for herself and her sister, because that's all she had--her parents and older sisters perished in gas chambers. Both of the girls left the camp alive, staying for a while in a convent and then later on sailing to Israel, albeit Miriam's kidneys weren't functioning too well because of Mengele's sadistic work on her. This is not an easy book to read, but it's a powerful one about an ugly part of history. And although these atrocities exist, hope, strength, and forgiveness can conquer these unforgettable horrors. I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this poignant memoir.

I received this book, written by Eva Mozes Kor and Lisa Rojany Buccieri, as a Netgalley e-book. Ironically enough, just this morning I had watched a documentary about Eva Mozes Kor on Netflix and just happened to stumble across her book on Netgalley a few hours later. My review is brief, but the book is brief as well.

This was a touching first person account of a twin who survived Dr. Mengele's horrible experiments in Auschwitz during the Holocaust. Eva was very matter of fact in her telling, and continued the events after liberation, which many survivors of the death camps do not do. It's sad to imagine that not only did they lose all the members of their immediate family, were tortured, starved, and treated like human guinea pigs, but after they were liberated, they were still treated poorly after the war. The book is very brief and was well written. The message of forgiveness the author wants to convey is timeless and important. I would definitely recommend this book to people interested in this period of history.

Reading books by survivors of the Holocaust is always an enlightening experience. With each book, we learn something new about the atrocities and lives of the survivors and Surviving the Angel of Death is a great example.

This is the first time I'’ve read a book co-written by a survivor of Dr. Mengele's experiments on twins. Eva's story is heart-wrenching, yet inspiring.

While this book is written for the YA audience, any scholar of WW II will learn things from this book. Highly recommended.

Eva and Miriam Mozes, who arrived at Auschwitz with their family at age 10, saw some of the worst aspects of the Holocaust as they were used as experiments by Josef Mengele. Eva, the author of this book, maintained a determination throughout to save her own life and that of her sister. This book is written so as to be appropriate for younger readers (about middle school age), but I recommend it to adults as well. This is an incredibly sad book, but an important one that I hope will be widely read.

Surviving the Angel of Death is Echoes From Auschwitz: Dr. Mengele's Twins: The Story Of Eva And Miriam Mozes adapted for young readers. I haven't read Echoes From Auschwitz (though I plan to) so I can't comment on the adaptation.

The book's focus is on Romania and Dr. Mengele's experiments on twins. I studied the Holocaust several times during school, but I can't remember ever discussing Romania and Dr. Mengele was only ever briefly mentioned.

I think this is a great book that teachers should check out for their students.

I believe the story to be well written. The vocabulary used is not to difficult for the middle grades. Lisa did a phenomenal job translating this book. The length of the book I feel is just right. It provides enough details without being overly graphic. I do not want to say that I enjoyed this book as it is difficult to enjoy reading something so horrifying. I did find it an interesting testimony of love, strength and determination to survive against all odds. With the message that Eva spreads we have a book that could have left us depressed but instead leaves us a message of hope. It is an astounding testimony that dreams can come true if we never give up and that forgiveness does not mean forgetting. It means moving forward in love and remembering for peace.
* I received no compensation for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.*

An interesting, yet generic memoir from the Holocaust. I believe with the language and lack of detail, it would be suited for a young adult audience. Still, well-written, and poignant. Received a free copy through NetGalley for honest review.

excellent book. good read. insightful telling of this era. This woman - Eva Kor - can be found online at[...] We have heard her speak in person and she is quite an individual with a great memory and very committed to the message of forgiveness.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tanglewood for the opportunity to review Surviving the Angel of Death: The Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor and Lisa Rojany Buccieri! This non-fiction account of a set of ten-year-old twins is heart-wrenching, but also inspiring.

A transitory of commitment to survive one of the worse experiments of the war. A simple story told by a young girl who would not give up. A startling disclosure of the evil brought on by war to innocents.