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Forgiving Dr. Mengele

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Eva Mozes Kor was 10 years old when she and her twin sister Miriam and the rest of her family were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Soon after arriving, the twin sisters were separated from their other family members and were then subjected to sinister medical experiments performed by Nazi doctors. The chief perpetrator of these horrific events was the ruthless and cruel Nazi SS officer and doctor Josef Mengele also known as the `Angel of Death'. Upon being liberated from the camp in 1945, Eva and her sister Miriam were the only surviving members of their entire family.

The premise of this documentary focuses on the power of forgiveness and its ability to heal even the most painful of wounds and memories. Eva Kor did what some might see as the unthinkable for most people. Astonishingly, she actually forgave Dr. Mengele and the Nazi's for what they did in the concentration camp. Other surviving twins from Auschwitz (who were also victims of Dr. Mengele) express their views here and they don't have the same capacity to forgive these heinous acts.

For several years, Eva Kor traveled around the world and lectured in several places defending her reasons for forgiveness. Whether it was in Germany, Israel, England, or the United States (she currently lives in Terra Haute, Indiana), she met with considerable resistance and opposition to her views. Knowing what happened in Germany and other countries during the Holocaust, this would be an understandable emotional response for many people.

I can't even begin to imagine the pain and suffering that Eva Kor has gone through and I honestly don't know if I'd be able to forgive in the same circumstances. What I can do is greatly admire her courage to come forward with these views and I respect her desire to heal herself and live a better life. There is no doubt that Eva Kor is a special person with a kind heart.

`Forgiving Dr. Mengele' is a sincere and affecting documentary and it is well produced in my opinion. The message contained within is an emotional one and the images in this program will stay with you long after you've seen them. This is recommended viewing for everyone.

Forgiving Dr. Mengele tells the story of Eva Mozes Kor. As one of two twin girls taken to Auschwitz, she refused to die from the diabolical Josef Mengele's experiments. Her death in the camp from an unknown bacterial cocktail would have meant the end of her use as a guinea pig; her uninfected sister then would have been murdered with a poisonous shot to the heart so the Nazi doctors could cut the two open and compare notes. This proud, unapologetic woman says she came to the camp refusing to die, bitterly cursing the children who had before she arrived.

Now a real estate agent in the United States, Kor goes on a personal mission to Germany to meet a Nazi doctor at Auschwitz found innocent of war-crime charges because he didn't commit any atrocities in the evil hospital. Documentarians Bob Hercules and Cheri Pugh capture Kor as she argues with other survivors who say forgiveness is impossible. Kor won't listen. She opens a Holocaust museum in Terra Haute, Indiana, and tours the world to prove that she can forgive, but never forget.

Forgiving Dr. Mengele is the surprising tale of a victim who chooses to forgive rather than live her life in pain any longer. It is personal and fascinating, letting Eva's personality unfold in all her strength and weakness.

I saw the 60-minute version of "Forgiving Dr. Mengele" at its world premiere at the Florida Film Festival and found it memorable and moving. The main theme of this documentary is the question of who benefits most from the act of forgiveness: the criminal or the victim? It's different from other Holocaust movies because the emphasis is on finding forgiveness rather than determining guilt or assigning punishment.

The film focuses on the story of Eva Mozes Kor (now in her 60s), one of the twin girls featured in a Holocaust photograph that intrigued co-producer Cheri Pugh. The Kor girls, along with other twins imprisoned at Auschwitz, were human guinea pigs for medical experiments conducted by Nazi doctor Josef Mengele. The crew follows Eva around the world for four and a half years as she initially tried to gain information about the earlier experiments conducted on her ailing sister in order to save her life. After her sister's death, Kor changes her mission to spreading forgiveness.

She encounters much resistance in her travels to London, Israel, the West Bank, Auschwitz, Berlin, Chicago, and even in her home town of Terre Haute. Few people embrace her philosophy and many are openly hostile and even violent towards her ideas. Kor's forgiveness is what she needs to do to survive her horrible memories and accept her sister's lifetime of physical suffering. She's not doing it for the benefit of the Nazis.

This is obviously not a one-size-fits-all solution to healing emotional wounds, and the majority of viewers probably won't agree with her. The way that director Bob Hercules presents Eva's story, however, is touching, thought-provoking, and worthy of an audience.

Leslie Halpern, author of Dreams on Film: The Cinematic Struggle Between Art and Science and Reel Romance: The Lovers' Guide to the 100 Best Date Movies.

For many of us, the virtuosity of forgiving is a given. It's good to forgive, we say, and wicked to hold a grudge. Curiously, however, it's not at all clear what it means to forgive, nor whether forgiveness is always virtuous. Is forgiveness primarily directed at self-healing, letting-go of resentment and pain? Is it primarily directed at offering the transgressor a fresh start? Is it a mode of justice, or is it antithetical to justice? Can one forgive if the transgressor doesn't express remorse? Are some actions unforgiveable, such that forgiving them is morally wrong? Can one forgive a dead transgressor? Can one forgive on behalf of others?

"Forgiving Dr. Mengele" invites us to reflect on these sorts of questions by focusing on the extraordinary life of Eva Kor. Along with her twin sister, Eva was a human guinea pig in Dr. Mengele's notorious "genetic experiments" at Auschwitz. (Eva's sister would eventually die from the after-effects of the experiments.) Like all survivors of the death and concentration camps, Eva was incredibly scarred by her experiences.

Seeking documentation about the experiments she and her sister endured, Eva (who was then in late middle age) sought out and met with a Dr. Erich Munch, the only Auschwitz physician exonerated at war's end. This personal encounter, in which a German expressed deep remorse over what Germans had done to Jews during the Third Reich, persuaded Eva that the "enemy" had a human face. Moreover, she came to the conclusion that dealing with her own pain was her responsibility. As she says, "victims need to take responsibility for their own healing, just as perpetrators need to take responsibility for their crimes." So she publicly forgave the Nazis for the crimes they committed against her as a "life-changing experience, to be free of the pain." "Getting even," she asserted, "has never healed a single person."

This is an extraordinary enough story had the film ended here. But what makes the film an excellent reflection on forgiveness is its honesty about the critical responses to Eva's forgiveness. Other survivors who are interviewed insist that forgiving when it comes to Nazi atrocities is a denial of what happened; that it's a violation of justice; that it's a disguised form of forgetting, and thereby encouraging, atrocities; that only Nazis who atone, in deed as well as word, qualify for forgiveness; and that Eva has no right to forgive on behalf of other victims (this last is a misdirected criticism, since Eva is clear that she's forgiving only on her own behalf).

Moreover, the film makers point out that Eva has a great deal of resistance to forgiving Palestinian terrorists, thereby gesturing at the psychological complexities and blindspots that must be taken into consideration when examining forgiveness.

Highly recommended.

Forgiving Dr. Mengele tells the exceptional story of a Holocaust survivor named Eva Kor who shocks many other Holocaust survivors--and others--when she declares that she forgives the Nazis for their actions during World War II. In particular, Eva forgives a Dr. Mengele who was performing horrible "experiments" on identical twins; Eva and her sister Miriam were subjected to these tests.

The film allows us to understand why Eva has chosen to forgive Nazis and Dr. Mengele in particular: she wants freedom from her emotional pain and scars by forgiving them. She does not forget; but she does forgive. That's pretty amazing.

Of course, we also see Eva try to explain her position to other Holocaust survivors. Predictably, most are not interested in forgiving the Nazis--and that certainly includes Dr. Mengele. There is one heated exchange between Eva and another Holocaust survivor at Israel's Holocaust museum that will make quite an impression upon you.

Another remarkable segment of this film is the time we accompany Eva as she goes to meet a former Nazi doctor--the only one acquitted after the war ended. We se the doctor express great remorse and he treats Eva like a lady. Eventually the doctor goes with Eva and other Holocaust survivors of Dr. Mengele's "experiments" on twins to participate in a healing memorial ceremony on the grounds of Auschwitz in Poland.

Look also for the rather human way that we find out Eva isn't exactly perfect: when she meets with Palestinians Eva becomes much more reticent to feel anything like remorse for the conflicts in the Israeli occupied territories. When her own Holocaust museum burns to the ground by arson, Eva once again admits that she will have "to work on forgiveness."

The DVD comes with a few extras; there's a printed brief interview with the director and there are printed web links to websites connected with this film.

Overall, Forgiving Dr. Mengele gives us a noteworthy and intimate look at a woman who chooses to follow an idealistic path to self-healing after the horrors of the Holocaust. She makes a controversial decision to forgive the Nazis; and we see Eva teach young people why she forgave them even as we see people challenge Eva for forgiving the Germans.

I highly recommend this film for students of World War II; and people who want to see a person successfully reach a rather lofty goal of forgiving brutal enemies and murderers will be riveted to their seats as they watch this film.

Everyone should watch this movie at least once. I don't even have the words to express how much this film touched me.

This documentary is different from most holocaust remembrance movies because the main character here is a survivor, not a victim. This is an important distinction that is brought up throughout the movie. It is also what makes this tale interesting, different, and hopeful.

This movie is about a feisty Jewish woman who never gave in or gave up during her stay at Auschwitz. She came to America and fought just as hard to secure her real estate profession, create a Holocaust museum in Indiana, and stay current with Israel.

She also did something profound. On a personal level, she publicly forgave the German doctors who experimented on her, her sister, and the other twins at Auschwitz. And this is where the story really takes off. Guess who gets most upset with this statement of forgiveness: The other holocaust survivors. It is this clash of survivor/victim and hate/forgiveness that elevates this movie from a feel good theme (i.e. forgive and life is good), to a reality theme (i.e. you must live your beliefs every day).

She says that by forgiving, her hate is gone and she is empowered. While she is no saint (she definitely has issues with the Palestinians), she is alive, strong, and pretty fearless. She is a testament to what she preaches. I was impressed.

I can't begin to express the great need for the whole world to see this Documentary about a Jewish woman who not only survived the horrible depraved experiments of the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, but came to a place in heart to forgive him and other Nazis. A person like this rarely comes along in a world filled with great hate and unforgiveness. This is a true story of one such woman, who came to discover that the only way to be freed from her burdening experiences of the holocaust was through forgiveness. She takes you through her long journey from Mengele's depraved experiments on her and her dear sister Miriam to her crusade to tell the world what deep healing can be found through forgiveness. Having come from a Jewish background myself, I often pondered the question of forgivenes towards Germans. I clearly believe Mrs. Kor is right! I can only say, that she is a very special woman who I respect and admire very much. Regardless whether you will agree with her or not, she must be heard! So yes! I can't encourage you enough to go out and get this wonderful DVD about a most courageous woman. To her husband and two children, you have been blest to have such a wife and mom.

Eva Kor is the reason to see this film. She is charming, heroic, and a model of strength, determination, and love in action. She and others like her are living proof that evil's victories are always temporary.

I was afraid to watch "Forgiving Dr. Mengele." Hitler was one of the most evil men who ever lived, but, as far as I know, Hitler didn't personally kill or torture anyone. Josef Mengele, on the other hand, used medical tools and procedures to torture innocent victims at Auschwitz. Mengele focused on children, and on twins. Mengele is the stuff of nightmares.

I hesitated before popping the DVD in the machine. In combat, Mengele won the Iron Cross for rescuing two German soldiers from a burning tank. Retired from the front and sent to be "camp doctor" at Auschwitz, he destroyed countless innocent lives. After the war, Mengele escaped, with the support of many German and South American friends, and died a free civilian's natural, comfortable death in 1979. I began thinking about what kind of hell would be appropriate for a Josef Mengele. I wondered what he thought about before he went to sleep at night.

Once the DVD began playing, I quickly realized that "Forgiving Dr. Mengele" isn't about Mengele at all. It's about Eva Kor, a delightful and inspirational human being. She's a real estate agent in Terre Haute, Indiana. Kor, a well-dressed senior citizen with a Mitteleuropa accent, is shown bustling about, hammering in lawn signs that advertise property for sale, guiding potential buyers, and making grilled cheese sandwiches for her two loving children and her husband in their modest suburban home. Kor is a woman of action, not reflection. In spite of her age, she moves like a bullet, directly toward her target. She acts, rather than sits and ponders. You know she loves her family because she feeds them. Her daughter describes Kor as "unhesitant," and the viewer agrees. Kor is shown giving inspirational speeches to school children, and opening up her own, small, Holocaust memorial museum. Kor and her twin sister Miriam were survivors of Mengele's torture.

Kor met with a former Nazi doctor, Hans Munch. Munch had resisted Nazi commands to take part in selections that condemned prisoners to death. He also engaged in ruses to protect prisoners' lives; former prisoners testified to this after the war. Munch was acquitted of war crimes. In 1995, Kor and Munch together issued a statement condemning the Holocaust. Kor forgave Munch. Kor was asked if she could forgive Mengele. After much thought, she said she could. Kor was challenged and her stance was rejected by other survivors.

The film shows Eva Kor at home, in schools, and at her museum. It shows her meeting with Munch and speaking with him at Auschwitz. The film also shows other twin survivors saying that they can't forgive Mengele. Finally, there is a brief, awkward and out-of-place meeting between Eva Kor and Muslim Arabs, lead by Sami Adwan. Kor appears to be the only Jew at the meeting. She is confronted by several Arabs who, while glaring at Kor with undisguised hate, proceed to tell her that Jews are responsible for all the problems in their lives, and that Jews never lived in Israel before 1945. They're wrong on all counts - they get both their facts wrong and their approach. It is simply distasteful to recruit an elderly, female, Holocaust survivor, get her alone in a room, and harangue her with blatant anti-Semitism. The film doesn't comment on this encounter. No conclusion is reached. One wonders why it was included.

There are a few things I wish the film had done differently. I would have liked more background on Kor's biography. What was life like after she left the camp and returned to Romania? How did she travel to Israel, and then the US? Most importantly, I never understood Kor's definition of the word "forgiveness." What does it mean to forgive? What does it mean to forgive Mengele? If he were alive today, would Kor hope for legal proceedings against him? Is Kor's insistence on forgiveness rooted in any religious belief? The film records the destruction, by fire, of Kor's Terre Haute Holocaust Memorial Museum. No one has been caught - but are there no clues the filmmaker's can bring to the viewers' attention?

My reservations are small. "Forgiving Dr. Mengele" is a moving, engaging, and inspirational film. Eva Kor's abundant life and her insistence on love make it so.

What an incredible and a thought-provoking documentary. It really begs the question of what forgiveness really means. A definite must see for anyone familiar with the Holocaust and the role Dr. Mengele played at Auschwitz concentration camp.
This documentary deals with some of the surviving twins that served as experimental guinea pigs for the infamous Dr. Mengele who meet once again nearly 50 years later to discuss what his atrocities did to their lives even after leaving Auschwitz. It is a heartbreaking story but one that needed to be told. The idea and the concept of forgiveness is different for everyone and as one of the survivors pointed out, she didn't feel one could find forgiveness while still in the midst of fighting for one's life. But for many of the survivors, even fifty years after the liberation of the camp, there is still no room for forgiveness in their heart. A very informative and heartbreaking story that is now a part of recorded history for future generations to have as reference.