In our hearts we were giants : the remarkable story of the Lilliput Troupe : a dwarf family's survival of the Holocaust
Koren, Yehuda2004
Book
A moving, powerful tale of survival under the most extreme circumstances recalls the experiences of the Ovitz family, a troupe of performing dwarves, all relatives, who were deported to Auschwitz, but managed to stay alive, despite special attention from the camp's Angel of Death, Joseph Mengele. Reprint. This remarkable, never-before-told account of the Ovitz family, seven of whose ten members were dwarfs, bears witness to the best and worst of humanity and to the terrible irony of the Ovitzes' fate: being burdened with dwarfism helped them endure the Holocaust. Through dogged research and interviews with Perla, the youngest Ovitz daughter and last surviving sibling, and other relatives, authors Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev weave the tale of a beloved and successful family of performers who were popular entertainers in Central Europe until the Nazis deported them to Auschwitz in May 1944. Descending from the transport train into the hell of the concentration camp, the Ovitz family,known widely as the Lilliput Troupe,was separated from other Jewish victims. When Dr. Josef Mengele was then notified of their arrival, he assigned them to sequestered quarters. His horrific "research" on twins and other genetically unique individuals already under way, Mengele had special plans for the Ovitzes. The authors chronicle Mengele's loathsome experiments upon the family members, the disturbing fondness he developed for these small people, and their interminable will to make it out alive. Dozens of telling photographs are included in this horrifying yet remarkable tale of survival.
Main title:
In our hearts we were giants : the remarkable story of the Lilliput Troupe : a dwarf family's survival of the Holocaust / Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev.
Author:
Edition:
1st Carroll & Graf ed.
Imprint:
New York : Carroll & Graf, 2004.
Collation:
xiii, 305 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. ; 22 cm.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (p. 291-295) and index.Translation of: Im Herzen waren wir Riesen.Originally published in German, c2003 by Ullstein Heyne List GmbH. & Co., KG, Munich.
ISBN:
9780786715558 (pbk)
Dewey class:
940.53184984940.531
LC class:
DS135.R73
Language:
EnglishGerman
Added title:
Subject:
Ovitz familyJews -- Romania -- Transylvania -- BiographyDwarfs (Persons) -- Romania -- Transylvania -- BiographyHuman experimentation in medicine -- Poland -- OswiecimHolocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)Mengele, Josef, 1911-1979Ovitz, PerlaHistoryHistoryEuropean historyThe HolocaustBiography: historical, political & military
BRN:
2956076
Electronic access: