Eva Kor
We are listening to the novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, by Heather Morris. The book has been a bestseller and is being made into a movie, even though there are some significant criticisms of its authenticity by the Auschwitz Memorial Research Centre. We were aware of the concerns but felt we needed a reminder of the horror of the Holocaust/Shoah as those who were surviving prisoners die and memories fade. Statistics show that younger generations have limited knowledge of how six million Jews died during WWII.
You may have noticed reports of the death of Eva Kor, an 85-year-old who was part of the terrible experiments on twins in Auschwitz by the evil physician, Josef Mengele, known as the Angel of Death. Both Eva and sister Miriam survived, but Miriam died in 1993.
Entrance to Auschwitz
Eva Kor was a remarkable human being who shared with others her deepening commitment to forgiveness in order to live a full life. She actually met with one of the doctors who was involved in Auschwitz and gave him the gift of a Forgiveness letter. Here is part of Eva's recollection, courtesy of the Forgiveness Project https://www.theforgivenessproject.com/eva-kor:
In my desperate effort to find a meaningful ‘thank you’ gift for Dr Munch, I searched the stores, and my heart, for many months. Then the idea of a Forgiveness letter came to my mind. I knew it would be a meaningful gift, but it became a gift to myself as well, because I realized I was not a hopeless, powerless victim. When I asked a friend to check my spelling, she challenged me to forgive Dr Mengele too. At first I was adamant that I could never forgive Dr Mengele but then I realized I had the power now…the power to forgive. It was my right to use it. No one could take it away.
On 27 January 1995, at the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, I stood by the ruins of the gas chambers with my children – Dr Alex Kor and Rina Kor – and with Dr Munch and his children and grandchild. Dr Munch signed his document about the operation of the gas chambers while I read my document of forgiveness and signed it. As I did that, I felt a burden of pain was lifted from me. I was no longer in the grip of hate; I was finally free.
The day I forgave the Nazis, privately I forgave my parents whom I hated all my life for not having saved me from Auschwitz. Children expect their parents to protect them; mine couldn’t. And then I forgave myself for hating my parents. Forgiveness is really nothing more than an act of self-healing and self-empowerment. I call it a miracle medicine. It is free, it works and has no side effects.
I believe with every fibre of my being that every human being has the right to live without the pain of the past. For most people there is a big obstacle to forgiveness because society expects revenge. It seems we need to honour our victims but I always wonder if my dead loved ones would want me to live with pain and anger until the end of my life.
Some survivors do not want to let go of the pain. They call me a traitor and accuse me of talking in their name. I have never done this. Forgiveness is as personal as chemotherapy – I do it for myself. I do it not because they deserve it, but because I deserve it.
We elevate sports stars and entertainers to hero status yet this woman should be known to everyone as a shining example of humanity at its most courageous.
When I saw the notice of Eva's death the name was familiar to me and I realized I'd written a blog about her back in 2015. Here is the link:
http://lionlamb-bowmanville.blogspot.com/2015/05/goodness-and-evil.html
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