Eva Mozes Kor > Quotes

“Getting even has never healed a single person.”
― Eva Mozes Kor

“At Auschwitz dying was so easy. Surviving was a full time job.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“Every night I had nightmares. I dreamed of rats the size of cats, dead bodies, and needles stuck into me. After we found out that the Nazi's had made soup out of Jewish fat, I dreamed that soap bars spoke to me in the voices of my parents and sisters, asking me, "Why are you washing with us?”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“forgiveness is not so much for the perpetrator, but for the victim.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“So I am saying to you, whoever is reading this book, to remember: never ever give up. You can survive and make your dreams come true.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“Mrs. Goldenthal's twin boys, Alex and Erno, were our age, and I discovered that they had been selected at Auschwitz for Mengele's experiments like us. Mrs. Goldenthan had stayed with them, and I found out later that she had hidden a younger child, Margarita, underneath her long skirt. She had come into the camp with the child hidden in her dress and during her entire stay there, even in the Nazi barracks where she had kept Margarita under the mattress during inspections, she and the other women had helped conceal the child.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“Until that moment I had stopped thinking about my family. Maybe it was due to the bread we ate each evening that supposedly contained not only sawdust but a powder called bromide that made us forget memories of home, a sedative of some kind. Whatever it was or was not, I could not feel sorry for myself, for Miriam, for anyone. I could not think of myself as a victim, or I knew I would perish. It was simple. For me, there was no room for any thought except survival.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“This place was confusing and noisy. People were yelling.
There were screams.
Confusion.
Desperation.
Barking.
Orders.
Crying, crying, crying. The crying of children for parents. The crying of parents for their babies. The crying of people confused and bewildered. The crying of people who saw with certainty that their nightmares had come true. All together the cries resounded with the ultimate and most unimaginable pain of human loss, emotional grief and suffering.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“Anger and hate are seeds that germinate war. Forgiveness is a seed for peace. It is the ultimate act of self-healing.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“Because we were twins, we clung to each other. Because we were sisters, we depended on each other. Because we were family, we did not let go.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“Anger is a seed for war; forgiveness is a seed for peace.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, The Twins of Auschwitz: The inspiring true story of a young girl surviving Mengele's hell

“Los granos se nos enterraron en la piel de las rodillas, pero eso no fue lo que más nos lastimó.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, The Twins of Auschwitz

“Anger and hate are seeds that germinate war. Forgiveness is a seed for peace. It is the ultimate act of self-healing. Forgiveness has nothing to do with the victimizers. It does not condone them, excuse them, or endorse them. No one asks to be a victim. Forgiveness is the only power a victim has to heal, liberate, and empower themself. I believe it is a human right to live free of pain.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“Anger and hate are seeds that germinate war. Forgiveness is a seed for peace. ls it the ultimate act of self-healing.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, The Twins of Auschwitz

“Children are very sensitive to their surroundings, the atmosphere, though adults always think their children are unaware of things that they aren’t told.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“Forgiveness is only for you. Forgiveness does not mean reconciliation with the victim; it could be dangerous to be in contact with the person who hurt you. In fact, I believe people have to feel safe to forgive. No one can forgive on the battlefield. That is why forgiveness is a personal decision and can only be done when a person is in the circumstances, a place of safety, and mindset to do so.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“It is not so easy to move on when your sleep is full of nightmarish memories.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, I Will Protect You: A True Story of Twins Who Survived Auschwitz

“But here the stink was over-powering. It was as if you walked through it, around in it. It was everywhere and inescapable. I did not find out right away what the smell really was.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“Never ever give up on yourself or your dreams, for everything good in life is possible. Judge people on their actions and the content of their character. Forgive your worst enemy and forgive everyone who has hurt you—it will heal your soul and set you free.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“He was covered with whip marks, oozing blood. They had burned his fingernails and toenails with the flame of candles. It took him many days to recover.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, The Twins of Auschwitz: The inspiring true story of a young girl surviving Mengele's hell

“I look at forgiveness as the summit of a very tall mountain. One side is dark, dreary, wet, and very difficult to climb. But those who struggle up and reach the summit can see the beauty of the other side of the mountain, which is covered by flowers, white doves, butterflies, and sunshine. Standing at the summit we can see both sides of the mountain. How many people would choose to go back down on the dreary side rather than stroll through the sunny flower-covered side?”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“La ira y el odio son semillas que hacen germinar guerra.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, The Twins of Auschwitz

“(...) but what I discovered once I made the decision was that forgiveness is not so much for the perpetrator, but the victim. I had the power to forgive. No one could gave me this power and no one could take it away. That made me feel powerful, it made me feel good to have any power over my life as a survivor.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, The Twins of Auschwitz

“Over time, I could see that prisoners who had someone in the camp to care about— whether a relative, friend, or neighbor—were more likely to survive. The prisoners who had no one did not last.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“At Auschwitz dying was so easy. Surviving was a full-time job.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“I learned that I could not always trust adults to tell the truth, especially if the truth was bad.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“One day, our math book contained this problem: “If you had five Jews, and you killed three Jews, how many Jews would be left?”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“she or any other survivor would be doomed to a life of anger and suffering if they were required to wait for an apology that would never come.”
― Eva Mozes Kor, Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz

“In the darkness I heard a whistle, a car, or motorcycle going by. Noises of marching, moaning, vomiting, barking and crying punctuated the hush of camp - an orchestra accompanying the pervasive human misery.”
― Eva Mozes Kor

“I look at forgiveness as the summit of a very tall mountain. One side is dark, dreary, wet and very difficult to climb But those who struggle up and reach the summit can see the beauty of the other side of the white doves, butterflies and sunshine. Standing at the summit we can see both sides of the mountain. How many people would choose to go back down on the dreary side rather than stroll through the sunny flower covered side?”
― Eva Mozes Kor, The Twins of Auschwitz