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    Giants: The Dwarfs of Auschwitz
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    Giants: The Dwarfs of Auschwitz
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    Giants: The Dwarfs of Auschwitz
    Ebook327 pages5 hours

    Giants: The Dwarfs of Auschwitz

    By Eilat Negev

    4.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    During the 1930s and 40s the Lilliput Troupe, a beloved and successful family of singers and actors, dazzled with their vaudeville programme and unique performances. The only all-dwarf show of the time, their small stature earned them fame - and, ironically, ultimately saved their lives. As Hitler's war descended, the Ovitz family - seven of whom were dwarfs - was plunged into the horrors of the darkest moments in modern history. Descending from the cattle train into the death camp of Auschwitz, they were separated from other Jewish victims on the orders of one Dr Joseph Mengele, the 'Angel of Death'. Obsessed with eugenics, Dr Mengele carried out a series of loathsome experiments on the family and developed a disturbing fondness for his human lab-rats, so much so that when the Russian army liberated Auschwitz, all members of the family - the youngest, a baby boy just eighteen months old; the oldest, a 58-year-old woman - were still alive. Based on exhaustive research and interviews with Perla Ovitz, the troupe's last-surviving member, and scores of Auschwitz survivors, authors Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev deftly describe the moving and inspirational story of this remarkable family and their indomitable will to survive.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe Robson Press
    Release dateFeb 12, 2013
    ISBN9781849545549
    Unavailable
    Giants: The Dwarfs of Auschwitz

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    • 3/5
      This is as the sub title notes "The Extraordinary Story of the Lilliput Troupe"In the 1930's and early 1940's, the Lilliput Troupe traveled near and far entertaining all who attended to see these seven little people, all from one family, perform plays, perform concerts using various instruments, and sing as high as their voices would allow.Dressing in lovely handmade customs, wearing lots of make up, and smiling, always smiling, the troupe soon gained fame, not only for their small size, but for their courage and talent. Living in Romania, and consumed with their daily life, they had little knowledge of the war fast at their door step.Soon Hitler's War would claim the seven Ovitz family dwarfs and other family members, loading them on a train with the final destination of the dreaded killing factories of Auschwitz.From their first day, Dr. Joseph Mengele, aptly named "The Angel of Death", claimed the family as his testing material.Watching thousands herded into the gas chambers, and as they watched body after body lay heaped upon piles of death, they knew that as soon as Mengele was finished with his experiments on them, they too would have the same fate.Well written and highly detailed, using surviving materials and records as well as extensive interviews, the authors deserve much credit for allowing the pride and beauty of the Ovitz family to shine through amid the pain and suffering of a hellish torment.Using dwarfs to show that the Jewish race was filled with deformity, Mengele was never able to substantiate his wicked, evil thoughts. As the Russian troops approached, Mengele fled the camp, leaving behind his family of dwarfs.Paradoxically, while Mengele tried to use the theory of eugenics and survival of the fittest to match his creepy, crazy thought processes, it was the fact that the Ovitz family was indeed so different that allowed them to survival. All family members taken to Mengele's lab survived.What an amazing story! Highly recommended.