by RTF Assistant Editor Halee Matthews

How much could you forgive?

Could you forgive someone for inflicting unspeakable pain on you and someone you loved? Could you forgive someone who tortured you in the name of scientific research?

It’s a sobering thought, but one I wrestled with while watching “Forgiving Dr. Mengele,” a documentary about Eva Kor.

Eva and her whole family were sent to Auschwitz when she was only 10. She and her twin sister, Miriam, were selected for Dr. Mengele’s genetic experiments, along with many other twins. What they endured is unimaginable.

At one point, Eva was injected with something meant to kill her and then left alone in a room to die. But she refused. She knew if she died, Miriam would be killed so Dr. Mengele could perform a comparative autopsy. For two weeks, Eva struggled with death.

All the twins there bore the pain of these horrible experiments for the rest of their lives. Because of Dr. Mengele’s work, Miriam had chronic kidney problems which developed into cancer of the bladder, eventually claiming her life at the age of 58.

Eva tried to find Dr. Mengele’s research so that the doctors could use it to cure the other twins, but her search proved fruitless. She did, however, discover another Nazi doctor, Dr. Munch, and set up a meeting with him. To her surprise, he treated her with kindness, sharing how greatly he struggled with depression over what he had seen and done.

And Eva forgave him.

She was able to reach in her heart and grant Dr. Munch the release he needed. So the question was posed to her: could she forgive Dr. Mengele?

This was the man who had stolen her childhood and cast a shadow over the rest of her life. This was the man whose work had claimed the life of her dear sister. This was the man who had nearly killed her when she was only 10.

Forgive him? It was a startling thought, but as Eva pondered it, she realized the only way she could truly live a full life was to release any bitterness toward the man who had inflicted such pain on her. Through this simple but difficult action, Eva knew she would be releasing that pain.

In 1995, at the 50-year celebration of the liberation of Auschwitz, Eva publicly forgave the Nazis, including Dr. Mengele, for inflicting pain and killing her family.

She forgave them.

This action was so radical, it drew harsh criticism from many of the other survivors, as well as some members of the Jewish community, but Eva stuck by her decision to forgive.

“Forgiveness is really nothing more than an act of self-healing and self-empowerment,” she said. “I call it a miracle medicine. It is free, it works and has no side effects.”

How much could you forgive?

You can read more about Eva Kor here and here.