It’s unusual for me to review a graphic novel. Even when the illustrations are in black and white, as these are, I have a difficult time visually reading graphic novels. But, Joe Lee’s Forgiveness: The Story of Eva Kor, Survivor of the Auschwitz Twin Experiments has an unusual Indiana connection. Lee is from Indiana, and he’s an editorial cartoonist in Bloomington. But, the Indiana connection is greater than that. Eva Kor ended up in Indiana when she married, and she established the CANDLES museum in Terre Haute. CANDLES stands for CHILDREN OF AUSCHWITZ NAZI DEADLY LAB EXPERIMENTS SURVIVORS.

Lee’s book begins with a brief account of Germany’s role in World War I, the aftermath, and the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party in Germany, as well as the story of their roll through Europe. Then, he switches to the story of Eva’s family. In 1934, twin girls, Miriam and Eva, were born to the only Jewish family in Portz, Transylvania (Romania), the Mozes. They had two older sisters. For most of the first ten years of their lives they were happy on the family farm. But, as war grew closer, the girls’ father and uncle went to Palestine. Their father returned with plans to move the entire family there, but their mother refused because her parents were too old for the journey. In 1944, the entire family was taken in Operation Margaretha. They ended up at Auschwitz-Ibrkenau.

Eva and Miriam were separated from the rest of the family because they were twins. The girls became subjects for Dr. Mengele’s experiments on twins. Without going into great detail, the book shows how horrendous the experiments were. It also tells of Eva’s heroism, and her attempts to steal food and keep people alive. Eventually, when the Russians liberated the camp, Eva and Miriam were reunited with an aunt and cousin. They would end up in Israel. That’s where Eva would meet her future husband.

Lee’s story tells of Eva’s life in Indiana, and the trauma she dealt with, her PTSD. It covers her efforts to move forward, and the founding of the museum. It also tells of Lee’s trip to Auschwitz with the woman who took people back as she talked about forgiveness.

Of course, Forgiveness is a difficult book to read. Despite my problems visually reading graphic novels, the black and white illustrations were effective, probably more powerful than colored illustrations would have been. Eva Kor’s story is one of courage, both as a child, and as an adult fighting to tell the story of twins who were subjects of experiments. It’s an excellent account of a little-remembered part of the Holocaust.

Forgiveness: The Story of Eva Kor, Survivor of the Auschwitz T win Experiments by Joe Lee. Red Lightning, 2021. ISBN 9781684351787 (paperback), 120p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I was given a copy of the book for review.