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Kalman & Leopold: Surviving Mengele's Auschwitz
In the shadow of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, Kalman and Leopold— two young boys—meet as unwitting subjects of Josef Mengele's twisted twin experiments. Pulled from their barrack, they are forced to become servants to the SS guards within Mengele's "hospital" camp, bearing daily witness to scenes of obscene viciousness. Within this nightmarish hell Leopold becomes Kalman's guide, helping him to navigate the terrifying complexities of the SS guard shack. Mengele's atrocities are relentless, yet within this darkness a friendship emerges, testament to the resilience of the human spirit. In January 1945, the Russian army liberates Birkenau and the boys part ways.
For fifty-six years Kalman searches tirelessly for his friend and protector, driven by the memory of a boy he knew only by a nickname he had given Lipa. Their story is a reminder of the depths of human immorality, and it is a testament to friendship, faith, and survival against all odds. As intolerance and hate intensify in the world, Kalman and Leopold's voices echo across generations, urging us to remember the horrors of fascism so that history's darkest moments remain in the past.
Never again!
For fifty-six years Kalman searches tirelessly for his friend and protector, driven by the memory of a boy he knew only by a nickname he had given Lipa. Their story is a reminder of the depths of human immorality, and it is a testament to friendship, faith, and survival against all odds. As intolerance and hate intensify in the world, Kalman and Leopold's voices echo across generations, urging us to remember the horrors of fascism so that history's darkest moments remain in the past.
Never again!
389 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 13, 2025
13 people are currently reading
1459 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 30, 2025
4.5 stars
Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and to author Richard Lowy for providing me with a Kindle copy of this outstanding non-fiction book detailing the lives of two Holocaust survivors, Kalman Braun and Leopold Lowy (often referred to as Leo or Lipa and the father of the author). This book is a synthesis of over twenty hours of testimony from those two heroic men.
The book is divided into three main sections. The first section of the book recounted each of Kalman’s and Leo’s childhood growing up in separate cities in Eastern Europe prior to the start of World War II. Leo and Kalman had much different childhoods with the only commonality initially being that each had a twin sister. Leo was a practicing member of the Jewish faith but not an Orthodox Jewish member. Leo was portrayed as street smart, direct, practical, and experienced. On the other hand, Kalman was a practicing Orthodox Jewish member, who went to yeshiva to study the Talmud and the Torah. Kalman was portrayed as innocent, naïve, and sheltered. Though from different backgrounds, the uniqueness of having a twin sibling brought them together at Auschwitz after their respective families were rounded up and sent in packed cattle cars to the largest extermination concentration camp in history located just outside the town of Oswiecim, Poland.
The second section of the book detailed the struggles of each of Kalman and Leo to survive their approximately six-and-a-half-month incarceration and involuntary participation in the “medical experimentation on twins’ program” overseen by Nazi doctor Josef Mengele in the hospital camp within Auschwitz II-Birkenau. While the vast majority of people who arrived at Auschwitz were sent directly for execution in the gas chamber and then quickly cremated, Kalman (and his twin sister Judith) and Leo (and his twin sister Miriam) were spared solely to be used as guinea pigs in a variety of inhuman, experimental, and horrific medical experiments. This section of the book described in detail the terrible smells, the vastly inadequate daily food rations that caused starvation and illness, the daily sights of dead bodies that were stacked in piles up to 10 feet tall, the fear of the unknown, the uncertainty of when physical beatings or being shot would occur, the unending fire and smoke that billowed out of the crematoriums as bodies were burned, and the unsanitary and abhorrent living conditions in the barracks. Despite these horrors, the resilience of both Kalman and Leo, who were 14 years old and 15 years old, respectively, at that time, helped them survive. Kalman and Leo became acquainted when they were selected at random from the 5am daily prisoner check to work in one of the SS guard shacks. Their tasks included cleaning the floors, washing the dishes, shining the guards’ boots, and running errands. Their experiences working at the SS guard shacks and what they witnessed daily as prisoners in a concentration camp were examined in vivid detail. The two young men’s interactions with other prisoners like Zvi Spiegel (known generally as the twins’ father as he was in charge of overseeing about eighty boy twins), Uncle Lajos (a small person of middle age who provided Kalman with much advice), and Pipi (a four year old twin whose energy kept the prisoners in the hospital camp barracks going) showed the best of humanity in the worst of times.
The third section of the book explained how each of Kalman and Leo, who were separated around the time that Auschwitz was liberated on January 27, 1945, and did not reconnect with each other for approximately fifty-six years thereafter, handled the aftermath of the war. Both tried to cope with the memories of seeing the brutality and viciousness of Nazi actions in Auschwitz, which resulted in the deaths of countless people, including many of their family members, in a world that could not relate. The world’s inability to relate to their experiences caused both to be reluctant to share their experiences at Auschwitz as others often viewed them as damaged people beyond repair. Eventually, both found the incredible courage to recall and share their experiences as survivors of the Holocaust by speaking to groups, participating in documentary films, and recounting their experiences for this book.
For readers who want to understand more about individuals’ experiences during the Holocaust, I highly recommend this book. In addition to the details of the concentration camp, Kalman and Leo described the various medical experiments and procedures to which they and other twins were subjected. In particular, Leo recounted how he was forced to give so much blood to a member of the SS who was injured during the Auschwitz uprising in October 1944 that Leo almost perished. This work is a great supplement to the 1960 book “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” by William Shirer that described how the Nazis rose to power, enacted their inhuman agenda, and then waged war across Europe and the 2023 film “The Zone of Interest,” which showed the indifference of the German guards and their families to the suffering of others just yards away from their residences. The only caveat to the Kindle version of this book is that the pictures and captions thereto are often difficult to see and read, which would be corrected by picking up a paperback or hardcover copy.
As the remaining living survivors of the Holocaust are reaching the end of their lives, it is more important than ever to read about their experiences and recommend to others works like this to prevent this inhumanity from happening again. On a couple of occasions, the author referenced Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel famous quote “When you listen to a witness, you become a witness.” Please read this book and recommend it to others. Become a witness to the accounts of two brave young men who overcame tremendous odds to survive. Thank you Richard for the countless hours that you devoted to this book and other projects to keep the memories and experiences of your father and of Kalman alive and in the consciousness of younger generations.
Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and to author Richard Lowy for providing me with a Kindle copy of this outstanding non-fiction book detailing the lives of two Holocaust survivors, Kalman Braun and Leopold Lowy (often referred to as Leo or Lipa and the father of the author). This book is a synthesis of over twenty hours of testimony from those two heroic men.
The book is divided into three main sections. The first section of the book recounted each of Kalman’s and Leo’s childhood growing up in separate cities in Eastern Europe prior to the start of World War II. Leo and Kalman had much different childhoods with the only commonality initially being that each had a twin sister. Leo was a practicing member of the Jewish faith but not an Orthodox Jewish member. Leo was portrayed as street smart, direct, practical, and experienced. On the other hand, Kalman was a practicing Orthodox Jewish member, who went to yeshiva to study the Talmud and the Torah. Kalman was portrayed as innocent, naïve, and sheltered. Though from different backgrounds, the uniqueness of having a twin sibling brought them together at Auschwitz after their respective families were rounded up and sent in packed cattle cars to the largest extermination concentration camp in history located just outside the town of Oswiecim, Poland.
The second section of the book detailed the struggles of each of Kalman and Leo to survive their approximately six-and-a-half-month incarceration and involuntary participation in the “medical experimentation on twins’ program” overseen by Nazi doctor Josef Mengele in the hospital camp within Auschwitz II-Birkenau. While the vast majority of people who arrived at Auschwitz were sent directly for execution in the gas chamber and then quickly cremated, Kalman (and his twin sister Judith) and Leo (and his twin sister Miriam) were spared solely to be used as guinea pigs in a variety of inhuman, experimental, and horrific medical experiments. This section of the book described in detail the terrible smells, the vastly inadequate daily food rations that caused starvation and illness, the daily sights of dead bodies that were stacked in piles up to 10 feet tall, the fear of the unknown, the uncertainty of when physical beatings or being shot would occur, the unending fire and smoke that billowed out of the crematoriums as bodies were burned, and the unsanitary and abhorrent living conditions in the barracks. Despite these horrors, the resilience of both Kalman and Leo, who were 14 years old and 15 years old, respectively, at that time, helped them survive. Kalman and Leo became acquainted when they were selected at random from the 5am daily prisoner check to work in one of the SS guard shacks. Their tasks included cleaning the floors, washing the dishes, shining the guards’ boots, and running errands. Their experiences working at the SS guard shacks and what they witnessed daily as prisoners in a concentration camp were examined in vivid detail. The two young men’s interactions with other prisoners like Zvi Spiegel (known generally as the twins’ father as he was in charge of overseeing about eighty boy twins), Uncle Lajos (a small person of middle age who provided Kalman with much advice), and Pipi (a four year old twin whose energy kept the prisoners in the hospital camp barracks going) showed the best of humanity in the worst of times.
The third section of the book explained how each of Kalman and Leo, who were separated around the time that Auschwitz was liberated on January 27, 1945, and did not reconnect with each other for approximately fifty-six years thereafter, handled the aftermath of the war. Both tried to cope with the memories of seeing the brutality and viciousness of Nazi actions in Auschwitz, which resulted in the deaths of countless people, including many of their family members, in a world that could not relate. The world’s inability to relate to their experiences caused both to be reluctant to share their experiences at Auschwitz as others often viewed them as damaged people beyond repair. Eventually, both found the incredible courage to recall and share their experiences as survivors of the Holocaust by speaking to groups, participating in documentary films, and recounting their experiences for this book.
For readers who want to understand more about individuals’ experiences during the Holocaust, I highly recommend this book. In addition to the details of the concentration camp, Kalman and Leo described the various medical experiments and procedures to which they and other twins were subjected. In particular, Leo recounted how he was forced to give so much blood to a member of the SS who was injured during the Auschwitz uprising in October 1944 that Leo almost perished. This work is a great supplement to the 1960 book “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” by William Shirer that described how the Nazis rose to power, enacted their inhuman agenda, and then waged war across Europe and the 2023 film “The Zone of Interest,” which showed the indifference of the German guards and their families to the suffering of others just yards away from their residences. The only caveat to the Kindle version of this book is that the pictures and captions thereto are often difficult to see and read, which would be corrected by picking up a paperback or hardcover copy.
As the remaining living survivors of the Holocaust are reaching the end of their lives, it is more important than ever to read about their experiences and recommend to others works like this to prevent this inhumanity from happening again. On a couple of occasions, the author referenced Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel famous quote “When you listen to a witness, you become a witness.” Please read this book and recommend it to others. Become a witness to the accounts of two brave young men who overcame tremendous odds to survive. Thank you Richard for the countless hours that you devoted to this book and other projects to keep the memories and experiences of your father and of Kalman alive and in the consciousness of younger generations.
February 5, 2025
It is fitting that I began writing this review of “Kalman & Leopold: Surviving Mengele’s Auschwitz” by Richard K. Lowy today, as it is January 27th, International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This date was designated by the United Nations General Assembly to commemorate the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp by the Soviet Red Army in 1945 – now 80 years ago.
Most people are aware that millions of people, including six million Jews, died in their many concentration camps including Auschwitz-Birkenau, the most widely known of those infamous facilities. Many other groups were targeted as well including Roma, Soviet Russians, other Slavic peoples, Poles, and other enemies of the Nazi German government during WWII.
Perhaps a lesser-known aspect of the brutality and horror of Auschwitz-Birkenau was the medical experimentation performed in a program led by Doctor Josef Rudolf Mengele. Mengele was particularly interested in studying dwarfism and young twins, both identical and fraternal. When the prisoners were brought to the camps, these twins and little people were set aside from the masses, the majority of whom went straight to the gas chambers. Instead, the twins and little people became the victims of his gruesome procedures, many of which caused agonizing deaths, dismemberments, or deformities in those who survived.
This book is the historical account of two boys, each half of a set of fraternal twins. They bonded and became allies during their imprisonment at Auschwitz. Each boy had a twin sister, and all were subjected to Mengele’s experiments. Kalman Braun (after World War II, Kalman Baro-On), whose twin sister’s name was Judith. Leopold Lowy (Leo), known as “Lipa” to Kalman during their imprisonment in Auschwitz, had a twin sister named Miriam.
The author, Richard Lowy, is the youngest of Leo’s three sons. He researched his father’s life and hometown in what was then Czechoslovakia near Hungary, as well as his time in Auschwitz. He recorded Leo’s reminisces of his experiences and created a documentary film, Leo’s Journey: The Story of the Mengele Twins. The film was shown on Israeli TV in 2001.
Kalman, meanwhile, had been searching for Lipa for decades. He had relocated to Israel where he made a new life. He saw the film, recognized the adult Leo as the boy he knew as Lipa, and contacted Richard. Years later, the ultimate result of that communication is this book, in which Richard incorporated Kalman’s vivid and highly detailed accounts of his early years and his imprisonment.
In addition to the often horrific and excruciating events of Kalman and Leo’s lives as inmates of the camp, the author included an overview of the creation and development of Auschwitz-Birkenau, along with maps and diagrams of the physical environment. There are also photos, many heartbreakingly graphic and gruesome. All material was augmented by meticulous footnoting that provides explanations of unfamiliar terms, cities and towns that have changed names or political designations, and other contextual facts.
To assist the reader in following the narrative, the author included a list of the family members of Kalman and Leo, information on other individuals important to their experiences – both friends and their opposite – the key locations mentioned, and additional details.
Though much of the book is an unsparing account of what Kalman and Leo endured both inside and outside of Auschwitz, there is an important counterpoint that provides balance to this reading experience. The contrast of the bond they forged, versus the treatment they endured, and the kindness and wisdom they experienced in relationships with other prisoners are what allowed them to retain their humanity. Ultimately, for them, goodness triumphed over evil, and their resilience allowed them to eventually build new and productive lives. While Kalman and Leo were able to survive when sadly many others did not, their experiences are still a testimony to what is possible despite great hardship and the worst possible odds, and that positivity is what most readers will take away from this book.
This is a compelling work for adults and late teen readers. Because of its often harrowing material, it would not be appropriate for younger teen readers to read on their own, though it could provoke meaningful family discussions. It also has potential as a text for history and political science courses on the events of the World War II era, specifically the circumstances that led to the Holocaust and its subsequent impact on world events.
Most people are aware that millions of people, including six million Jews, died in their many concentration camps including Auschwitz-Birkenau, the most widely known of those infamous facilities. Many other groups were targeted as well including Roma, Soviet Russians, other Slavic peoples, Poles, and other enemies of the Nazi German government during WWII.
Perhaps a lesser-known aspect of the brutality and horror of Auschwitz-Birkenau was the medical experimentation performed in a program led by Doctor Josef Rudolf Mengele. Mengele was particularly interested in studying dwarfism and young twins, both identical and fraternal. When the prisoners were brought to the camps, these twins and little people were set aside from the masses, the majority of whom went straight to the gas chambers. Instead, the twins and little people became the victims of his gruesome procedures, many of which caused agonizing deaths, dismemberments, or deformities in those who survived.
This book is the historical account of two boys, each half of a set of fraternal twins. They bonded and became allies during their imprisonment at Auschwitz. Each boy had a twin sister, and all were subjected to Mengele’s experiments. Kalman Braun (after World War II, Kalman Baro-On), whose twin sister’s name was Judith. Leopold Lowy (Leo), known as “Lipa” to Kalman during their imprisonment in Auschwitz, had a twin sister named Miriam.
The author, Richard Lowy, is the youngest of Leo’s three sons. He researched his father’s life and hometown in what was then Czechoslovakia near Hungary, as well as his time in Auschwitz. He recorded Leo’s reminisces of his experiences and created a documentary film, Leo’s Journey: The Story of the Mengele Twins. The film was shown on Israeli TV in 2001.
Kalman, meanwhile, had been searching for Lipa for decades. He had relocated to Israel where he made a new life. He saw the film, recognized the adult Leo as the boy he knew as Lipa, and contacted Richard. Years later, the ultimate result of that communication is this book, in which Richard incorporated Kalman’s vivid and highly detailed accounts of his early years and his imprisonment.
In addition to the often horrific and excruciating events of Kalman and Leo’s lives as inmates of the camp, the author included an overview of the creation and development of Auschwitz-Birkenau, along with maps and diagrams of the physical environment. There are also photos, many heartbreakingly graphic and gruesome. All material was augmented by meticulous footnoting that provides explanations of unfamiliar terms, cities and towns that have changed names or political designations, and other contextual facts.
To assist the reader in following the narrative, the author included a list of the family members of Kalman and Leo, information on other individuals important to their experiences – both friends and their opposite – the key locations mentioned, and additional details.
Though much of the book is an unsparing account of what Kalman and Leo endured both inside and outside of Auschwitz, there is an important counterpoint that provides balance to this reading experience. The contrast of the bond they forged, versus the treatment they endured, and the kindness and wisdom they experienced in relationships with other prisoners are what allowed them to retain their humanity. Ultimately, for them, goodness triumphed over evil, and their resilience allowed them to eventually build new and productive lives. While Kalman and Leo were able to survive when sadly many others did not, their experiences are still a testimony to what is possible despite great hardship and the worst possible odds, and that positivity is what most readers will take away from this book.
This is a compelling work for adults and late teen readers. Because of its often harrowing material, it would not be appropriate for younger teen readers to read on their own, though it could provoke meaningful family discussions. It also has potential as a text for history and political science courses on the events of the World War II era, specifically the circumstances that led to the Holocaust and its subsequent impact on world events.
March 23, 2025
"Kalman and Leopold: Surviving Mengele's Auschwitz" by Richard K. Lowy is an unforgettable and deeply moving memoir that captures the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unspeakable horror. Through the voices of Kalman and Leopold, we are taken on an emotional journey that is both heart-wrenching and inspiring.
The bond between the two young boys, forged amidst the unimaginable cruelty of Josef Mengele's experiments, serves as a testament to the power of friendship and hope. Their stories, told with raw honesty, shed light on the atrocities of the Holocaust while also highlighting the enduring strength of survivors.
That said, it took some time to get used to the flow of the narrative, which alternates chronologically between Kalman, Leopold, and other important figures. At times, I found myself momentarily forgetting whose perspective I was reading. However, once adjusted to the structure, this approach added depth and context, enriching the overall story.
Lowy's thoughtful narrative not only preserves the memories of Kalman and Leopold but also ensures that future generations will remember the lessons of this dark chapter in history. This book is a compelling read for anyone seeking to understand the depths of human suffering and the incredible capacity for survival and love. Highly recommended for readers of all backgrounds, this memoir is both a solemn tribute and a call to never forget.
The bond between the two young boys, forged amidst the unimaginable cruelty of Josef Mengele's experiments, serves as a testament to the power of friendship and hope. Their stories, told with raw honesty, shed light on the atrocities of the Holocaust while also highlighting the enduring strength of survivors.
That said, it took some time to get used to the flow of the narrative, which alternates chronologically between Kalman, Leopold, and other important figures. At times, I found myself momentarily forgetting whose perspective I was reading. However, once adjusted to the structure, this approach added depth and context, enriching the overall story.
Lowy's thoughtful narrative not only preserves the memories of Kalman and Leopold but also ensures that future generations will remember the lessons of this dark chapter in history. This book is a compelling read for anyone seeking to understand the depths of human suffering and the incredible capacity for survival and love. Highly recommended for readers of all backgrounds, this memoir is both a solemn tribute and a call to never forget.
March 17, 2025
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. All of these thoughts are my own.
This book was amazing. It is so well put together and I learned an incredible about of new information. I have read a lot of accounts of those who experienced concentration camps, but nothing like this. The accounts presented are descriptive and heart-breaking. I can’t recommend this enough.
This book was amazing. It is so well put together and I learned an incredible about of new information. I have read a lot of accounts of those who experienced concentration camps, but nothing like this. The accounts presented are descriptive and heart-breaking. I can’t recommend this enough.
September 30, 2025
This was a fascinating. although heartbreaking book. Hearing more details about Mengele's experiments on twins. was disturbing. Seeing how Kalman and Leopold each handled the years after their internment just showed how each person handles these unthinkable situations in different ways. It was so nice that after 56 years, they could finally reunite and close that sad time in their shared history.
September 4, 2025
What an incredible and impactful recounting of 2 boys experiences in the concentration camps during the Holocaust.
February 9, 2025
This extraordinary book is an account of what two young teenaged boys, each one half of sets of fraternal twins, experienced, in the time preceding, and during their incarceration, in Auschwitz during World War II.
They were subjects of cruel, invasive, and horrific medical experimentation performed by Dr. Josef Mengele and his staff of doctors and technicians. Mengele's particular subjects of interest were sets of twins and dwarfs, who upon their arrival at the concentration camp, were separated from other family members who were often sent directly to their deaths in the gas chambers, or worked to death if they were deemed fit enough upon entry.
The two boys were Kalman Braun, who became Kalman Baro-On in his new post-war life in Israel, and Leopold Lowy, who emigrated to Canada where he married and became the father of three, including Richard K. Lowy, a filmmaker and the author of this book.
In Auschwitz, the two boys worked together on whatever duties were assigned to them by their Nazi handlers. Any mistake or misstep resulted in harsh punishment, but their solidarity helped them to survive, with Leopold (known as "Lipa"), the older and more worldly wise, often advising and protecting Kalman.
Many years later, Richard Lowy made a film about his father's life, which was shown on Israeli TV. Kalman, who had been searching fruitlessly for Lipa for decades, saw it, and that ultimately led to their being reunited. Kalman contacted Richard, and with his reminisces, along with his father's, this extraordinary book came about.
The book includes accounts of their Auschwitz experiences from Kalman and Leopold, maps, and other supporting documents, all carefully annotated and footnoted. Reading what these boys and the other inmates experienced is horrifying.
Yet, the reader leaves on a positive note, because both of these boys, as men, were able to create new and productive lives, a testament to the resilience of their humanity, and a lesson about what can be accomplished in life despite an experience of the worst that humankind can inflict on one another.
I highly recommend this book with the caveat that it is not sparing in its recounting of what Kalman and Leopold and millions others experienced at the hands of the Nazi regime. It does not whitewash or excuse any of the crimes that were perpetrated, or diminish their impact. We must never forget, but we can heal.
They were subjects of cruel, invasive, and horrific medical experimentation performed by Dr. Josef Mengele and his staff of doctors and technicians. Mengele's particular subjects of interest were sets of twins and dwarfs, who upon their arrival at the concentration camp, were separated from other family members who were often sent directly to their deaths in the gas chambers, or worked to death if they were deemed fit enough upon entry.
The two boys were Kalman Braun, who became Kalman Baro-On in his new post-war life in Israel, and Leopold Lowy, who emigrated to Canada where he married and became the father of three, including Richard K. Lowy, a filmmaker and the author of this book.
In Auschwitz, the two boys worked together on whatever duties were assigned to them by their Nazi handlers. Any mistake or misstep resulted in harsh punishment, but their solidarity helped them to survive, with Leopold (known as "Lipa"), the older and more worldly wise, often advising and protecting Kalman.
Many years later, Richard Lowy made a film about his father's life, which was shown on Israeli TV. Kalman, who had been searching fruitlessly for Lipa for decades, saw it, and that ultimately led to their being reunited. Kalman contacted Richard, and with his reminisces, along with his father's, this extraordinary book came about.
The book includes accounts of their Auschwitz experiences from Kalman and Leopold, maps, and other supporting documents, all carefully annotated and footnoted. Reading what these boys and the other inmates experienced is horrifying.
Yet, the reader leaves on a positive note, because both of these boys, as men, were able to create new and productive lives, a testament to the resilience of their humanity, and a lesson about what can be accomplished in life despite an experience of the worst that humankind can inflict on one another.
I highly recommend this book with the caveat that it is not sparing in its recounting of what Kalman and Leopold and millions others experienced at the hands of the Nazi regime. It does not whitewash or excuse any of the crimes that were perpetrated, or diminish their impact. We must never forget, but we can heal.
March 14, 2025
I was randomly scrolling through Goodreads giveaways and entered to win this book (and I did win it, so here is a review).
Over the last 8 months or so, there has sadly been an increase in anti-semitism in some Christian Reformed circles. It's a small group, but they are very vocal and boast a fairly large following. Some pastors are even ok with their members questioning the Holocaust (and making bold assertions about how great Nazi Germany was).
This book should be read by all of them. The firsthand details given by Kalman and Leopold are amazing. What they went through just because they were Jews (and from sets of twins) is unconscionable.
If you are someone who is "questioning", I urge you to take a fresh look at what actually happened in history and read what Richard Lowy has compiled from the eyewitness testimony of Kalman and Leopold. Thank you for finally publishing these stories, Richard.
Over the last 8 months or so, there has sadly been an increase in anti-semitism in some Christian Reformed circles. It's a small group, but they are very vocal and boast a fairly large following. Some pastors are even ok with their members questioning the Holocaust (and making bold assertions about how great Nazi Germany was).
This book should be read by all of them. The firsthand details given by Kalman and Leopold are amazing. What they went through just because they were Jews (and from sets of twins) is unconscionable.
If you are someone who is "questioning", I urge you to take a fresh look at what actually happened in history and read what Richard Lowy has compiled from the eyewitness testimony of Kalman and Leopold. Thank you for finally publishing these stories, Richard.
December 20, 2025
An Excellent Word of Mouth Experience
Very good, well done, historical writing. I was aware of the name Mengele and his atrocities, but this is the first book I have read regarding him and the horid experiences. There's nothing like reading it from the voices and words of those who have had to live it.
Very good, well done, historical writing. I was aware of the name Mengele and his atrocities, but this is the first book I have read regarding him and the horid experiences. There's nothing like reading it from the voices and words of those who have had to live it.
April 9, 2025
I won this ebook in a Goodreads giveaway, and I'm so thankful I did! While I thought I was familiar with the Holocaust, I was not aware of Mengele and the horrific experiments he did on twins and little people. This is an emotionally hard book to read, but one that is important. We should never forget what happened in the past and assure that something like this never happens again. Kalman and Leopold, by sharing their stories helped bring the Holocaust into a new light for me as I'm sure it will do for you as well. It was handy having the ability to click on footnotes while reading to gather further information. However, I wish I had a hard copy of the book to better be able to see the pictures included.
September 19, 2025
Fact-based & authentic with rich detail. Undeniable truths make scepticism of what happened impossible. An educational read!
December 28, 2025
An excellent depiction of two of Mengele’s twins, giving a lot of their lives before and after Birkenau.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews