Terre Haute's Eva Kor: A Holocaust Survivor's Legacy

In 1945, ten-year-old Eva Mozes and her twin sister Miriam walked out of Auschwitz-Birkenau as survivors of Josef Mengele's brutal medical experiments. Decades later, Eva Kor would return to that same death camp—not as a victim, but as an educator, advocate, and voice of radical forgiveness. This is the story of how an Indiana illustrator captured Eva's remarkable life in a groundbreaking illustrated biography, and how Eva spent her final hours teaching forgiveness at the very place that tried to destroy her.

Joe Lee, a circus-clown-turned-illustrator from Indiana, created something unprecedented: a full-length graphic biography of Eva Kor's life. When Joe traveled to Poland with Eva and a group of students in July 2019, he witnessed Eva dancing the Hora on the selection platform at Birkenau—reclaiming her joy where the Nazis tried to take it. The next morning, Eva Kor died at age 85, leaving behind a legacy of forgiveness that continues through the CANDLES Holocaust Museum she founded in Terre Haute, Indiana.

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In This Episode:

• How a circus clown became the illustrator of a Holocaust survivor's life story
• Eva Kor's message of radical forgiveness after surviving Mengele's experiments
• The moment high school students sang to Eva at Auschwitz-Birkenau
• Eva's final hours teaching forgiveness at the death camp where her family died
• The unprecedented illustrated biography that captures a survivor's legacy

Key Figures:

• Eva Mozes Kor (1934-2019) - Holocaust survivor, CANDLES Museum founder, forgiveness advocate
• Miriam Mozes Zeiger (1934-1993) - Eva's twin sister, fellow Mengele experiment survivor
• Joe Lee - Indiana illustrator, author of Eva Kor's illustrated biography
• Dr. Josef Mengele - Nazi physician who conducted brutal medical experiments on twins at Auschwitz

Timeline:

• 1945: Eva and Miriam Mozes liberated from Auschwitz-Birkenau at age 10
• 1984: Eva Kor founded CANDLES (Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors) organization
• 1995: Eva publicly forgave the Nazis in a controversial act of personal healing
• 2003: CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center opened in Terre Haute, Indiana
• July 3, 2019: Eva spent afternoon teaching at Auschwitz-Birkenau, dancing the Hora on selection platform
• July 4, 2019: Eva Kor died in Poland at age 85
• 2020: Joe Lee's illustrated biography published following trip with Eva

About the CANDLES Museum: The CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Terre Haute, Indiana is the only Holocaust museum in the state. It offers audio tours featuring Eva Kor's voice, educational programs, and annual trips to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The museum continues Eva's mission of education and forgiveness.

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