Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz
4.7
31
5
1
175
8.99
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781933718576 |
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| Publisher: | Tanglewood |
| Publication date: | 03/13/2012 |
| Edition description: | First Trade Paper Edition |
| Pages: | 175 |
| Sales rank: | 58,734 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d) |
| Age Range: | 12 - 17 Years |
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Surviving the Angel of Death
4.7 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
31 reviews.
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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.
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This book tells the story of Eva and Miriam Mozes, twin girls who were taken to the death camp at Auschwitz and were tortured by Dr. Mengele because they were twins. This book tells how they survived the long year they spent in the camps and somehow avoided being killed while so many around them were dying. While the book is straight forward, it is sensitive to the target audience and the level of detail that they can handle. I found the wording a bit simplistic but I imagine that it was the coauthors attempt to keep the book at the level of their target audience. This is the first book I have read about the recollections of someone who was experimented on but the doctors, probably because so few survived the process.
Definitely a book I would recommend if you are interested the history of World War 2 and can handle some of the violence and mistreatment that is necessary in the story telling process for this subject. A good, fast-paced memoir but not an easy subject to stomach.
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I have to say that this memoir is a wonderful read. I've had it on my list of books to read for a while, and now I'm kicking myself for having waited so long. Though the topic of the memoir is gut wrenching, the prose and revelations within the book are captivating; something everyone needs to know about. I'm ashamed to say that I'd never heard of the twin experiments within the camps, though I knew of experimentation, and what Dr. Mengele did to those children is truly atrocious. Mozes Kor does a wonderful job, though, of making these atrocious actions easier to read through her prose and diction, which help keep the reader from complete despair as there isn't extreme detail. Instead, Mozes Kor alludes to many of the atrocities without expressing all of them point blank, which also makes this a great book of MG and YA, as it isn't too gritty for them.
I am currently teaching Night, by Elie Wiesel, to my students, and I'm thinking of ways to bring this novel into the classroom as well. It's very well written, and it's a true eye opener. Five stars.
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I have to agree with all the other positive reviews...this book is great! Students have such a fascination with the Holocaust and love reading survivor stories, so this is one that will definitely go on our library shelves.
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The autobiography of Eva Kor. A must read, definitely one of my favorite books. Heartbreaking but very informative. I absolutely love this book. I suggest this book for anyone twelve or a hundred twelve a must read. I hope you all read it.
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This book tells the horrific experiences of Eva and Miriam Mozes during their time in the Nazi concentration camps. Eva and Miriam are only 10 years old when their family is arrested and placed in a cattle car with only room to stand, no food, no water, and barbed wire on the tiny windows. At the end of the train ride they are relieved until they see where they've arrived, the Auschwitz concentration camp. They are immediately ripped from the father, mother, and sisters, never to see them again, separated because they are considered special because they are identical twins. They are to be patients under the care of a Nazi doctor, Josef Mengele, who is experimenting with genetics in order to make the perfect Aryan race. What follows is a terrifying story of starvation, fear, desperation, and hope. One twin is often injected with a disease that will kill them so that when they die the other twin is killed so that they can compare the two. They are given different kinds of drugs to see their affects and to try to change their eye color or to try and change girls to boys. The Twin experiments were horrible and sadly, they were considered the lucky ones. Very intense, very heartbreaking, hard to read, because of the horror of it and knowing that these things really happened. This is one of those books that everybody should read.
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Ever since I was a child war stories have been told left and right but none can compare to this one. surviving the angel of death really paints a picture in my mind of just how tough being a jew in world war 2 really was. I would urge anyone to buy this amazing and well written book.
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You must read beyond the hardships they faced and why. Its a horrible journey they took together. They survived because they had each other. Inspiring.
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This is a really good book the little girl eva is coming to my class this mouth and i loved the book some were sad and some were happy and my teacher read some of the book to my class but i did not want the book to END!!!!!!!
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I fojnd this to be a gripping read and by the end i was emotonal affected. The only disappointment was the lengtb. Only 96 pages.
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I've read a lot of memoirs in the last 10 years written by survivors of the holocaust. Shocking, haunting and enough to make your blood boil, these are unimaginable stories of loss, pain and heartbreak but also inspiring and motivating. Surviving the Angel of Death is one of the few Holocaust books that I've read aimed primarily at a younger audience, but that doesn't make it any less shocking than accounts that are more adult-focused. In fact, being lived through the eyes of 10-year-old Eva is in some ways even more heartbreaking. The writing is honest and straightforward with no feeling of events being romanticized or dumbed-down in order not to shock the reader. As Eva fights for both her own life and the life of her sister, my admiration grew stronger by the line for this tough, spirited child who used her own experiences to help others become inspired and to understand exactly how much forgiveness can achieve.Enjoyed is not the right word for a book about the Holocaust - enthralled, enraged, saddened and admiration are more apt descriptions, that completely sum up my feelings after I turned the last page.
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I approached this book with some trepidation. How would it be possible to write a book about surviving Josef Mengele's twin experiments at Auschwitz? How would it be possible to teach children about this horror without traumatizing them into lifelong nightmares?Some of my trepidation comes from my own perception of Josef Mengele as the most member of the Nazi party. He was the living template for every doctor in every horror story ever - both before and after he was alive. The coldness and brutality of his actions, couched in the guise of Important Science are among the most shocking things I've known about. When I first read about him as an adult he appeared in my nightmares regularly causing stark, raving terror every single time.Surviving the Angel of Death took my breath away. Not only is it completely age appropriate, it is also one of the most inspiring stories of human endurance, sisterhood, and forgiveness I've ever read. It's a book that, along with The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank's diary) should be read by everyone. It's not about the history, although that matters, it's about the human spirit - perhaps the sturdiest thing we all possess.I have been reading about and practicing some elements of Buddhism for many years. I try, most of all, to practice mindfulness and compassion in every part of my life. Sometimes I'm much more successful than others. The one stumbling block in my life has always been forgiveness. Part of me still believes in an Old Testament sort of notion that some acts are forever unforgivable. Ms. Kors, the subject of a documentary, has spent much of her later life speaking and teaching on the Holocaust and forgiving those who did such terrible things to herself and her family. Everything I've read about the importance of forgiveness and that it is a gift you give yourself coalesced for me in reading Ms. Kors talk about her life. It's made it much easier to start working on forgiveness and, I think, will be life-changing in many ways I can't imagine right now.This is a powerful story and a powerful book. It will haunt you and inspire you to rise above, to celebrate life's blessings. A truly beautiful and life-changing read.
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The story of a twin selected for scientific experimentation in Auschwitz and her struggle to keep herself and her sister alive.
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Eva and her sister Miriam were selected at the platform at Auschwitz for Mengele's twin experiments. Despite the horrid conditions and terrifying experiments, both Eva and her sister survived the holocaust. Written for young adults, this book does a wonderful job of educating while telling a story. Moving and heartfelt, Eva and Miriam's story is one of never giving up. I believe that any young adult would not only enjoy reading this book but be moved by the difficult subject.
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This is a quick read and a wonderful book.
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I received a copy of this book through Netgalley, wherein you get a free book in exchange for an objective review. I had seen the author, Eva Mozes Kor, being interviewed about her experiences as a child in Auschwitz. Eva and her twin sister were the subject of medical experiments by Dr. Mengele. After downloading it, I realized it was written for young people. I was a little taken aback by that because of the subject matter, but then I realized that future generations need to know how insidious it is when people start to think of themselves as belonging to a superior race or group, and the horrible things that can be justified by that. I am close to fifty, and to be honest I don't know much of anything about WWI. How tragic it would be if the lessons of the Holocaust were not passed down to future generations!
Eva describes how safe her family felt in the countryside, then how neighbors who had been friends began to turn away from them as anti-Jewish sentiment spread. She tells what it was like to be sent in a cattle car to Auschwitz, and how she and her twin sisters were "saved" from the gas chambers because they were twins. Mengele apparently found it quite an opportunity to infect one twin with a deadly disease so that if she died, the other twin could be killed and he could get a chance to compare the two in autopsy. It was sick and horrifying, but what kept her story from being completely overwhelming was Eva herself. She was such a tough little survivor! Injected with some deadly disease, she crawled out of bed every night and dragged herself to a faucet for a drink of water. She knew that if she succumbed, her sister would be killed. Seemingly by sheer strength of will, she recovered. She stole food and other items to keep her sister alive, and she and her sister both outlived the Nazi regime. Not bad for a kid!
I think this was a great read for young and old alike. Highly recommended.
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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.
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I read a lot of holocaust stories and this one was very good.
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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.
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Given To Me For An Honest Review
This book is about the Holocaust and what happened in Auschwitz. Josepf Mengele experimented with many of the
prisoners there. He was very interested in twins. Eva and her sister were subjected to these experiments because
they were twins. It was a great book. One that children who are studying about that time in history should include in
their studies. It is not as graphic as many other books but it does the job of telling the story.
I highly recommend this book to everyone. I wish I could give more that 5 stars for it.
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This book gives a great insight of the events in the mid 1900's and WWII. The authors do a great job of setting the scene and creating a true feel of the events that occur in the book. It makes the audience think about how the traumatic events were put upon people and how their suffrage was a huge part of world history. When the twins encounter their worst fears, the audience starts to feel the emotion that them and many others in the concentration camps felt at this time.The ability the author Eva Mozes Kor, one of the two authors, brings to the book displays the true pain and suffering put upon many Jewish and other segregated families is truly heartbreaking and very real. She puts everything onto the table: her and her sister's experiences as well as how they were effected after they were free.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone, particularly if you are interested in the Nazi power or WWII. It gives great insight on the time period and can make you as emotional as the people in the book. It is very detailed and never is censored to the audience, which gives them a chance to experience it for themselves. The authors have written this to the greatest of their abilities and never once can you not be on the edge to figure out what happens next. Suspense, action, and love are incorporated in the book that make it truly inspiring and eye opening.
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AP World history review:
I am a freshman in high school and I read this book for my AP world history book review. I chose this book because I am really interested in learning about the Holocaust and I was very intrigued while reading this. The story of the Mengele twins helped me to better understand how people were treated in the concentration camps during the Holocaust. Not only was I informed of the "special twin treatment", I also was able to learn about why the Nazi's did what they did and how other countries helped.
This book taught me so many things from the extremity of what Jewish people faced during this time to the other countries aid toward the Jewish population. I felt like this book was more beneficial in helping me to understand this period of time than anything else. To be able to read about Eva's experience from her point of view was very helpful since she was the one who actually experienced it. I would recommend this book to all AP students interested in learning about the Holocaust. Not only was this book good for receiving information, it was also enjoyable to read! Definitely worth reading!
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I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I requested a copy of Surviving the Angel of Death, even though I was worried I might not be able to stomach it. But considering the source material, considering this is a real life account of what atrocities happened during World War I, I felt like I just had to read this. I’m glad I did.
Surviving the Angel of Death is a horrifying book. Some of the stories detailed in here…they made me squirm, made my stomach turn upside down, made me want to throw up. But at the same time, it deserves to be read just because of the stories it tells, so we know we should do whatever we can to never allow this to happen again.
Eva was ten years old when she arrived in Auschwitz. Her parents and two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers, but Eva and her twin sisters, Miriam, were sent to the care of Dr. Josef Mengele, although “care” is the entirely wrong word here. They were forced to fight for their lives every single day ,and to witness the terrible experiments Dr. Mengele performed, not just on them, but on others – twins, dwarfs, pregnant women. What was truly inspiring about this book, was the girl’s strength. The things they could do in the face of danger, the horrors they could survive, their will to live. It was heart-wrenching, and heck, it damn near broke my heart to read this book.
The thought that people might still be going through something of the sort, even today, is horrible. We may deluce ourselves into thinking no one is getting tortured anywhere at this moment in time, or that we’ve somehow gotten rid of most of the evil in the world, but we must not kid ourselves. We must not stay blind for the horrors of this world.
This writing fits the audience – YA – and I can only imagine how hard it must’ve been to write a book of this caliber of horrendousness and make it suitable for a YA audience.
A testament to the courage of two young children, and to the power of hope.
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