Surviving The Angel of Death by Eva Mozes Kor

 This is not a long story, but nonetheless extremely harrowing. Not because it is written that way, it is actually written in an extremely matter of fact way, detailing the events, but because it is a true story and about a set of 10 year old twins who were caught up in the most evil of wars, and the most evil of atrocities, that completely shocks you to the core. You think these things couldn't happen now? They were convinced these things couldn't happen then, so they missed their chance to escape to freedom with others of their family.

Eva and her sister Miriam grew up in Romania - the only Jews in the area as they lived on a remote farm. They got on with their neighbours, and must have thought life was good. When the war started they thought they were far enough away to be left untouched, but the attitudes of their neighbours slowly changed and they experienced antisemitism.

One day, the family were rounded up and put on cattle cars to be taken to Germany, and no one spoke up for them. They managed to survive the journey, as many didn't, and they then found themselves in Auschwitz. As Eva and Miriam were not only identical but wearing the same dresses it was obvious that they were twins, and it was this that saved their life at the time, whilst the rest of their family were killed.

Eva and Miriam had become one in a huge set of twins who were experimented on by Josef Mengele, one of the most evil men who ever lived. Their suffering at this time was unimaginable, and it was only due to their absolute determination that they made it through the war alive. Unfortunately the story doesn't end there with a happy ending, and Eva and Miriam had many hard years documented in the story before they found a home with people who really cares about them.

There is also a long epilogue, where Eva describes how she comes to the realisation that to move on she needs to forgive the Nazis who killed all her family and who almost killed her and her sister. Obviously this wasn't a popular attitude amongst all the death camp survivors, but it felt right to her.

An amazing story, told in a brilliant way, and one which everyone should read. We must never forget.