Code Name Pauline: A Review

Title: Code Name Pauline: Memoirs of a World War II Special Agent

Author: Pearl Witherington Cornioley, edited by Kathryn J. Atwood

Genre: Memoir, YA

"I don't like blowing my own trumpet, I find it really difficult, but at the same time I want people to know what really happened." 

-Pearl Witherington Cornioley at the beginning of Code Name Pauline

Growing up, Cecile Pearl Witherington didn't have an easy childhood. Her father was an alcoholic and her mother grew up in a well-to-do family and wasn't prepared for the struggles of being a "single parent." At a young age, Pearl took on a lot of responsibility that ultimately prepared her for her important role in World War II.
Because of her British citizenship and her upbringing in Paris, Pearl spoke English and French. she became an SOE agent. When the Germans invaded France, Pearl and her family fled back to England.

The SOE (Special Operations Executive) is one of those little-known yet fascinating events of World War II. It was so top-secret most had never heard of it until after the war. A British organization designed to help resistance movements in Nazi-occupied Europe, the SOE participated in sabotage, espionage, reconnaissance, and all types of guerrilla warfare. After grueling SOE training and three practice jumps, 29-year-old Pearl parachuted into Nazi-occupied France on a cold September night in 1943.

Pearl and her husband Henri

Posing as a cosmetics saleswoman, Pearl began her resistance work by participating in little acts of defiance against the Nazis. Things take a turn for the worst when her boss Maurice Southgate was captured by the Gestapo (Nazi police) and taken to Buchenwald (a concentration camp) - leaving Pearl in charge of 3,500 resistance workers. For the rest of the war, she bravely led the 3,500 resistance workers under the name Pauline.

After the war, Pearl settled down with her pre-war fiance, Henri Cornioley. She never spoke about her work in the resistance because she was afraid her story would be twisted with Hollywood-drama or exaggerations. Fifty years later, Pearl began to realize the impact her story could have on young people. She told a French journalist about their wartime experiences, and her story was published in France as Pauline. This book, Code Name Pauline, is the English translation, edited by Kathryn J. Atwood.

This book, since it is aimed at a young adult audience, is pretty easy to follow along. The story is straightforward and told solely as it had happened - very little drama is present. Pearl gracefully took all of life's challenges. The beginning of each chapter fills us in with some historical background, which really helps the reader, especially if he has never heard of the SOE.

I have always loved strong female protagonists, especially in true stories. I loved Kathryn Atwood's book Women Heroes of World War II and I was so excited to hear she was in the process of editing another book (this book). Our culture does not put enough emphasis on true heroes, like Henri and Pearl. We need to show young girls courageous females like Pearl and do exactly what she would have wanted - share her story to encourage young people facing trials in their life.


Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my review.

11 WWII Fiction Novels

This is part of a series called 11 Lists of 11 Books. I have read all books unless otherwise noted.

Daniel's Story by Carol Matas - Holocaust
Part Elie Wiesel and part Anne Frank, Daniel's Story is the story of young teenager Daniel. The chapters are divided into 4 chapters: Pictures of Frankfurt, Pictures of Lodz, Pictures of Auschwitz, and Pictures From Buchenwald. The story opens with 14 year old Daniel in a train, headed to a place no an unknown destination. Their journey from the Lodz Ghetto to death camp Auschwitz to concentration camp Buchenwald is told in an unflinching but age-appropriate manner. I really enjoyed this memoir, and it has a few good life lessons I really appreciated.
The USHMM (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) created an exhibit dedicated to the children of the Holocaust, and they named it Daniel's Story, after the book. Although this exhibit is no longer available, it can be seen here.

The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti - German Resistance

Helmuth Hübener is my political hero. I love him so much, I featured him in my Ten World War II Heroes series. This is his fictional biography. Teenager Helmuth and two friends secretly created an anti-Nazi pamphlet and spread it all over Germany. This book gives an accurate portrayal on  how he became involved in his own resistance, what he must have felt in prison, and the courage he had that so many other adults didn't.

Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz and Jack Gruener - Holocaust
If I could meet any three living Holocaust survivors, Jack Gruener would be on this list. Jack (Yanek) Gruener survived a ghetto, two death marches - and ten concentration camps. (all before his 18th birthday)
What set this apart from every other Holocaust memoir/novel I've read was Jack's humanity. He never gives up despite overwhelming odds. He has multiple chances to steal from fellow inmates, but refuses to.
This book is a true story. To make it more interesting, Gratz added some fictional dialogue but the story as a whole is true. The parts I know are true include: Jack hiding in the barracks from Amon Göth, Jack surviving ten concentration camps, Jack asking the kapo for bread on a death march, and Jack surviving.

Willow Run by Patricia Reilly Giff - Home Front (America)

Willow Run was a real plant in Michigan during WWII that manufactured B-24 Liberator bombers. And it is the place 11 year-old Meggie has to live after her father gets a job there. Her brother is in the army and her uncle is German, making him a target for bullies. Meggie is a relatable, very real character with struggles, dreams, and fears.

Escape from Warsaw by Ian Serraillier - Poland
Originally titled "The Silver Sword"
Joseph is sent to a prison camp for being anti-Nazi and his wife is deported to Germany. Joseph escapes and heads to Switzerland and sends his three children - Ruth, Edek, and Bronia - to meet him in Switzerland. The book is loosely based on a true story.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne - Holocaust

I'll admit, this novel is unrealistic at times. I mean, the German son of a Nazi officer doesn't know who Hitler is, children use English words unrealistically, and two children would never be able to go near barbed wire in a concentration camp without getting shot. However, I believe it is the message Boyne conveys that makes this so powerful.
Eight year-old Bruno is enjoying his privileged life in Germany. When his family moves to Out-With, (Auschwitz, an infamous concentration camp) Bruno soon becomes bored and meets a young Jewish boy across the barbed-wire fence - Shmuel. Shmuel (Hebrew for "Samuel") is 8 as well, and the two become fast friends. Shmuel and Bruno are very similar, both are the exact same age, have the same birthday, both are sweet and innocent. Their only difference is they are of a different race.
Although not gory at all, this heartbreaking story's ending will shock you. The movie very closely matches to the book. I believe everyone should read this book or watch the movie. Never forget.

MAJOR SPOILER AND LESSON: In the end, young Bruno and Shmuel are both gassed as the two search for Shmuel's father. I strongly believe the message here is prejudice hurts everyone, not just the victim. The second message is hatred is taught. Children aren't born hating another person simply because of race.

Behind the Bedroom Wall by Laura E. Williams - Holocaust

It's 1942. Korinna is one of millions of German children caught in the fanatical Hitler Youth. However, Korinna's parents couldn't disagree more with Hitler and his fanatical ideas - they have a Jewish family hidden in Korinna's bedroom wall. From a young age, Hitler Youth were encouraged to turn in anyone anti-Nazi, including their own parents. Will Korinna turn her parents in, or will they get caught on their own? If they do, what happens to Korinna?

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry - Danish Resistance
This Newbery Winner tells the story of the Danish Resistance. In real life, the Danish Resistance rescued 99% of its Jewish population. This story is about the fictional Annemarie Johansen, who helps her Jewish friend and neighbor Ellen escape to the neutral Sweden. A great story of courage!

Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff - America

Growing up on the home front, ten-year-old Lily has the perfect life. Until her father is drafted. Sent away to live with her grandmother, Lily meets young refugee, Albert, and the two become friends. Conflict centers on Lily's bad habit, lying. Patricia Reilly Giff is a very talented writer and how Lily's story unfolds is both interesting and unique.


Run, Boy, Run by Uri Orlev - Holocaust
Could your 8 year-old self live in a forest - alone - undercover - and with only one arm?
Srulik is a young Jew who goes undercover as a Pole. He faces many challenges - finding food, avoiding anti-Semitism, the Nazis, the harsh Polish winters. As if that wasn't hard enough, this courageous 8 year-old loses his arm in an accident. Genesis 17 was a major problem for all Jewish boys in hiding. Surlik, like every other Jewish male, is circumcised. This comes up quite a few times in the story, along with a few profanities. Taking this out, this is a fantastic novel. Oh, and did I mention it is based on a true story?


Farewell to Manzaner by Jeanne Houston - Japanese Internment Camps
The Journal of Ben Uchida, citizen #13559, Mirror Lake, California - a Dear America Book
Both of these books cover Japanese internment camps, and both of these are fiction. I haven't read either of these, but have heard nothing but positive feedback on both. If you've read these, let me know what you think!

Other WWII novels for the age range that I have read but weren't my top favorites include: 

- Once by Morris Gleitzman (I've read the sequels are better)

- Snow Treasure by McSwigan (great plot, okay writing style)

-When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr (slow, but good)

I happen to read more WWII nonfiction than WWII fiction.

What are your favorite WWII fiction novels for the designated age range?

11 WWII Picture Books

This is part of a series called 11 Lists of 11 Books. I have read all books unless otherwise noted.

Despite being picture books, many are not appropriate for younger (7 and under) readers due to subject and length. (a lot of these are a bit long, but all under 40 pages)

Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto by Susan Goldman Rubin
Irena's Jars of Secrets by Marcia Vaughan
Irena Sendler was a young Catholic social worker when WWII broke out. Heartbroken at the way her Jewish friends were being treated, Irena knows she has to do something. In the course of 18 months, Irena rescues 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto.
Both books provide a wealth of information about Irena. None of the pictures are graphic, and both have beautiful illustrations. The ending has more information (aimed at adult readers) about Irena.


The Flag With Fifty-Six Stars by Susan Goldman Rubin
A true story about the prisoners of Mauthausen concentration camp, this story is aimed at older students. As the end of the war was nearing, Germany knew it would lose. At the same time, the concentration camp inmates knew their liberators would be there soon. To show their gratitude, the inmates wanted to offer their liberators a gift. They decided on a flag. At the time, the US had only 48 states, therefore 48 stars. The inmates guessed, and made the flag with 56 stars. (You can see the flag here.) Despite being a picture book, this is definitely aimed at older grades.

The Little Ships: The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk by Louise Borden

Told in a free verse-poetry format from the view of a nameless little girl, The Little Ships is a fictional story about Operation Dynamo, better known as the Evacuation at Dunkirk. In May 1940, little ships took part in the rescue of over 300,000 Allied soldiers.
I read this book twice - the second time I read it after researching Dunkirk and it made this story even better. Since the book didn't really portray go in-depth to the surroundings, it would be best to do a little bit of research before you read this.

Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki

This fictional story is told from the view of a little boy growing up in a Japanese Internment Camp and how he grows to love baseball, despite not being very good at first. Seeing the Home Front from the eyes of a Japanese child is very interesting. Since it's main subject is baseball, this would be best for boys.

Welcome to Molly's World 1944 (American Girl)

This is a book all about the American life during WWII for any Molly McIntire fan or any introduction to WWII! This book explores every aspect of life a 10 year-old would have had during the second world war.
If you've ever read an American Girl book, you know at the end of each book, they have a "Peek into the past". This large picture book is written in that fashion, with lots of great historical photos and artifacts. It covers everything from the clothing style, toys, sports, to the red cross nurses.

Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen by Michelle McCaan

One night in 1944, Miss Luba found 54 Dutch children at the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen. These children - mostly orphans - were all cold and hungry. Despite great risks, Luba and a few other women cared for these children until the British arrived in April 1945. In reality, 53 of these children survived the war. Even after the war, Luba cared for these children. I haven't read this book yet, but it is based for older elementary students.


Voices of Pearl Harbor by Sherry Garland
Each page of this picture book begins with "I am" and is told by a different person effected by the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The various people include US and Japanese army men, a Japanese mother, a Red Cross nurse, a Japanese-American who loves America, and a Hawaiian native. Pearl Harbor from the view of different people is very interesting. Normally you only hear of the American side, but we often forget Japanese women also lost their sons, brothers, and husbands. No corpses are shown, but some explosions are realistically portrayed. The ending has more information on Pearl Harbor, and extended reading.


Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story by Ken Mochizuki
This incredible true story tells the story of Chiune Sugihara, from the first-person point of view of his son, Hiroki. (His son co-wrote this book.) During WWII, this amazing Japanese diplomat lived in Lithuania, and rescued the lives of around 10,000 Polish Jews by giving them transit visas to Japan. The last few pages have more information on this amazing story.

The Yellow Star by Carmen Deedy

Denmark is truly an amazing country - the people worked together to save 99% of its Jews during WWII. This story is purely fictional, based off a legend. But, it could have happened. And, I believe Denmark's King Christian X would have done it.

~

King Christian X of Denmark was known for riding around on his horse - unarmed and unguarded. Legend says after the Nazis made all the Jews wear yellow stars, King Christian X had his daily morning ride - with a yellow star on. This is that story.

Great illustrations, short, simple, I LOVED it.

Star of Fear, Star of Hope by Jo Hoestlandt
It's been a while since I've last cried while reading a picture book, but this fiction story had my eyes wet. It's July 1942, and Helen is having her birthday sleep over with her Jewish friend Lydia. Helen's parents won't be home from work until later, and the two friends decide to tell ghost stories until then. Suddenly, two frantic strangers with yellow stars on their coat come to their door. Lydia's life will never be the same again.




A few notes:
1. I did not include "The Cat With The Yellow Star" on here because it is WAY too long.
2. There is a book called "My Secret Camera" I really enjoyed. It is told with little writing and mostly through real photos of the Warsaw Ghetto. It is VERY sad, but the pictures are not graphic. The pictures were taken from a hidden camera, so the pictures are not posed.

For more Holocaust picture books, see here.

What are your favorite WWII picture books?

10 WWII Heroes: Jack Werber 10/10

Historical photos are not mine. They are used for educational purposes. I own all other photographs. You may use all of my photographs, as long as proper credit is given.

This is the tenth in a ten part series about the heroes of World War II. You can view the introduction and table of contents to this series here.

At the beginning of each story I will give a maturity rating from 1-5. 1 means the story is appropriate for younger ages, and 5 means it is appropriate for teens and up. This story is rated 4.5.

Well, this is the last post! I hope you all enjoyed this series! I had lots of fun writing it! And, I learned quite a bit through my in-depth research.

Jack Werber is by far the least-known person I have featured so far. However, his story, and that of the Buchenwald Resistance is so amazing I had to include it in here.

Born in 1914, Jack Werber grew up in Radom, Poland. Out of a hundred thousand residents in pre-WWII Radom, only about a third were Jewish. His mother died when he was five, and being the youngest of eight siblings he was often spoiled.

Before the war began, Jack was active in Zionist movements, planning to get to Palestine (now Israel). To get to Palestine, each person needed a certificate from the British. (The British owned Palestine at the time) Married couples were preferred because they could share a certificate. Because of this, some people faked a marriage to share a certificate. It was in this time of his life Jack met Rachel Weintraub. She was a devoted Zionist and the two had a lot in common. They married in 1937, and planned to go to Palestine. However, Jack's father did not want his youngest child to leave so far away. So instead, the two stayed in Poland and in 1938, they had a baby girl they named Emma.

In September 1939, the Germans invaded Poland, starting World War II. Jack, among other Jews, was promptly arrested at random was was taken to the concentration camp Buchenwald. At first, Jack's only concern was working and surviving. However, in 1942, Jack was asked if he wanted to join the Buchenwald International Underground. He accepted, and his first job was to find out if inmates in charge were abusing their position. If they were, Jack would report them, and then the person would be replaced.

Liberation. Werber is on the far right. 

The Buchenwald Resistance

Originally run by German communists and social democrats in the early 1940s, by the end of the war the Buchenwald Resistance ran the majority of the camp and eventually liberated it as the Americans drew near.
Since the Nazis were lazy and couldn't run the whole camp, Buchenwald was run by "prisoner functionaries", which were basically prisoners in charge of other prisoners. Many of these prisoners were criminals, mostly convicted murderers. They of course were hated by the other inmates. The Buchenwald Resistance began catching these murderers in crimes (such as stealing), get them sent to the quarry (certain death), and then the resistance would replace these inmates with political prisoners - more humane people.

Saving 700 children

The Nazis began sending masses of Jewish people to concentration camps in mid 1944 to 1945. Until then, Jack had no knowledge of his wife, Rachel or his daughter, Emma. In 1944, a friend had told him that both his wife and daughter were murdered at Auschwitz concentration camp. Jack was heart broken.

Buchenwald children at liberation

But something happened in August of that same year. A train full of about seven hundred young boys, ages six to sixteen, arrived at the camp. One of these boys was the Novel-Peace Prize winning author Elie Wiesel. Seeing these young children brought back memories of Emma, and with the resistance, Jack became fanatical about saving them. The non-Jewish underground did not oppose to this, but children were not as great a priority as politicals and other adults. Jack, however, made it his mission to save as many children as possible.
The children were hidden all over the camp, with very few actually working. For the undocumented children, food came from the medical building and the prisoners who had German wives that sent them food. Jack was a barrack secretary and cared for about 150 children in Block 23. Gustav Schiller, who many recall with kindness, was the block leader of Block 66, where Elie Wiesel was.
Starting in September 1944, there was even a makeshift school that was set up for some of the children. The children learned Yiddish, Hebrew, poetry and history. Jack remembers one eight year-old refuse to go to classes, saying, "Why should I go to school? I won't come out alive anyway."
The children were always kept in the barracks, and great measures were taken to prevent the Nazis from entering the barracks. The main excuse was with all the diseases, the Nazis were sure to catch something if they entered the barrack.

As the Americans cornered the camp, the Nazis fled. The heavily armed resistance took over the camp. At last, on April 11, 1945, they were liberated - and 700 children were saved. Jack had survived 5.5 years in Buchenwald. The Americans were met joyously and gave them food and medical relief. Photos of Buchenwald child survivors can be found here. (no graphic images)

While searching for relatives, Jack met camp survivor Millie Drezner, and married her in January 1946 and the two moved to the United States in May of that year. Jack made a huge profit from the Davy Crockett fad in the 1950s and later invested that money in real estate. He and Millie lived very happily for sixty years. Jack and Millie were interviewed by USHMM (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) in 1989. This interview can be found here.

In late November 2006, Jack died of a heart attack in New York. He was 92 years old. He has told his story in his brutal, unflinching memoir Saving Children. Millie recently wrote a memoir called Two Rings, and although I didn't like it as much as Saving Children, it includes more post-war stories than Jack's memoir. There is a documentary called The Boys of Buchenwald about the rescue, but I have not seen it. For some reason, the rescue and resistance seems to be little-known and few books or documentaries have been dedicated to the subject. Since I have and will continue to find amazing little-known stories like this, I suppose my research of World War II will never be over.

--

In memory of all the inmates in Buchenwald, the resistance, and those who lived to bear witness.

If you enjoyed this post, please comment and share this post! It means a lot. 

Thank you so much!

10 WWII Heroes: Richard Winters 8/10

Historical photos are not mine. They are used for educational purposes. I own all other photographs. You may use all of my photographs, as long as proper credit is given.

This is the eighth in a ten part series about the heroes of World War II. You can view the introduction and table of contents to this series here.

At the beginning of each story I will give a maturity rating from 1-5. 1 means the story is appropriate for younger ages, and 5 means it is appropriate for teens and up. This story is rated 5. I would not recommend the below resources to anyone under 12. However, for teens and up, these are fantastic resources.

Richard Winters, Public domain

Richard "Dick" Winters is probably the most well-known person that I've featured so far. He was born on January 21, 1918 in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. In college, Winters dedicated his life to his studies and part-time job; forfeiting his social life and giving up his favorite sport, wrestling. In 1941, he graduated with a B.S. in Economics and had the highest academic standing in business college.

Richard Winters and Lewis Nixon

After enlisting in late August of the same year, Winters received basic training at Croft, South Carolina. Afterwards, he began training draftees and volunteers. After passing several tests, he qualified for the Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia, and that is where he met his long-time buddy Lewis Nixon. Following graduation from OCS in July 1942, Winters knew he wanted to become a paratrooper. Because there was no position available at the time, he trained another group of draftees at Croft. Five weeks later Winters was assigned to the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) at Camp Toccoa in Georgia. At Toccoa, he was a second lieutenant under first lieutenant Herbert Sobel. It was also in Toccoa where he joined E Company - better known as Easy Company. An experimental unit, few men in the 506th PIR had military experience, and the training was rigorous. One of the training exercises was called Currahee - "three miles up (a hill) and three miles down". "Currahee!" later became Easy's motto.

Richard Winters

After Toccoa, Easy Company was sent to England. Although Easy was warned about the strict rationing in Britain, an elderly couple quite enjoyed Winters and invited him to tea. This sweet couple had a son who had died while serving in the Royal Air Force. When the officers barracks became too crowded, the couple offered Winters into their home, which he greatly accepted. He believed that they were "truly preparing himself for what was to come".
During that time in England, for nearly ten months, Easy Company trained in preparation for D-Day.
Just after one o'clock in the morning on June 6, 1944, Winters parachuted out of a plane and landed in France.
A few hours later, Winters led an attack that destroyed a battery of German howitzers that were firing on principal exits of Utah Beach. Although Winters led the attack with only 13 men, it is estimated nearly 50 Germans were guarding the weapons.
Winters heroic actions and leadership skills have been credited for saving many lives. Winters greatest quality - and something he feels very strongly about - is leadership. He believed that getting to know the men made it easier to inspire them. At the same time, he wanted to respect and have a close relationship with his men, yet command and discipline them accordingly. Winters believed if Easy's first commander Herbert Sobel would have led them during the war, casualties would have been more common.

Easy Company; England June 5, 1944

The first of July brought big news - Winters was once again promoted, this time to captain. On July 12, Easy pulled back and returned to England.
Operation Market Garden came in Holland in September 1944. Unfortunately, this airborne mission was unsuccessful. In the cold winters, Easy Company was in Bastogne, part of the Battle of the Bulge. One of the most memorable Easy Company moments was in April 1945. The war was coming to a close, and the men are wondering why Hitler dragged them from their wonderful homes in the US to this stupid war in Europe. While patrolling outside of Easy's headquarters, a few of Easy's men came across something strange, and immediately alerted Winters. The strange location Easy Company ran into was a concentration camp - Kaufering IV, a subcamp of Dachau. The conditions in Kaufering were horrific, with corpses strewn about everywhere. The Nazis had fled the camp and locked the inmates inside. Coming face-to-face with Nazi cruelty, they truly realized why they were fighting.

Richard Winters with a picture of Damien Lewis,
who played him in the miniseries Band of Brothers

After the war, Winters quietly settled down, and worked at Lewis Nixon's family business in New Jersey, Nixon Nitration Works. Winters married Ethel Estoppey in May 1948, and they lived happily
together for over sixty years. Winters trained draftees during the Korean War. After a number of miscellaneous jobs, he retired in 1997. He was awarded several awards for his actions and leadership during World War II.

In Hershey, Pennsylvania on January 2, 2011, Richard Winters died at 92 years of age. Very humble, he requested a private funeral. His grave simply says, "Richard D. Winters World War II 101st Airborne."
A 12-foot bronze statue dedicated to all of the US troops was unveiled in France on the 68th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 2012. The statue was dedicated to all the young men who died during those fateful days.

An Easy veteran walks past the Richard Winters statue
(From the US Army website)

Easy Company participated in the most notable battles of World War II. Their exploits were featured in the bestseller Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks turned the book into a 10-part miniseries in 2001.  Band of Brothers is the highest rated mini-series on IMDb. The 10-part series has an average rating of 9.6 from over 128,000 reviewers. Winters wrote a memoir based on his experiences, entitled Beyond Band of Brothers. I would highly recommend both resources for high school and up. The miniseries is rated R for violence and profanity. It's violent. It's war. The liberation of a Nazi concentration camp isn't easy to watch. It has over 60 F-words. The beginning of pisode 9 has a 15-second scene with nudity. You can skip the nudity scene, because it has nothing to do with the story. Other than that scene and another around episode 6 (the men are showering and you can see their backside) no other nudity/sexual content is present. ClearPlay has edited versions of the series, but I would not recommend editing a lot of violence. I mean, Steven Spielberg is very serious when it comes to editing Schindler's List. He makes it clear he did not want any concentration camp nudity or violence to be edited when it aired on TV - it was all crucial to the film. That's how I feel about the violence in Band of Brothers.

Although Winters' leadership skills made him the most famous, all of the men of Easy Company are heroes. The end of the series Band of Brothers included a documentary, where the real men of Easy Company shared stories about the war. The classic ending line was Major Dick Winters quoting a passage in a letter he had received, "I cherish the memories of a question my grandson asked me the other day. He said, 'Grandpa were you a hero in the war?' Grandpa said no, but I served in a company of heroes."

For more information and pictures on Winters and Easy Company, you can see my Pinterest board here and the tumblr account Letters to Easy Company.

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In memory of the men of Easy Company. Thank you for your service and bravery!

If you enjoyed this post, please comment and share this post! It means a lot. 

Thank you so much!

10 WWII Heroes: Eva Kor 7/10

Historical photos are not mine. They are used for educational purposes. I own all other photographs. You may use all of my photographs, as long as proper credit is given.

This is the seventh in a ten part series about the heroes of World War II. You can view the introduction and table of contents to this series here.

At the beginning of each story I will give a maturity rating from 1-5. 1 means the story is appropriate for younger ages, and 5 means it is appropriate for teens and up. This story is rated 3, with resources and teachers guide for middle schoolers.

Eva Kor (the little girl on the left)

Forgiveness is a topic that has been up for debate for ages. One of my favorite quotes is from Mahatma Gandhi: "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong." C.S. Lewis also rightly stated, "Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive."

Eva Mozes and her twin sister Miriam were born January 30, 1934. They were only five years old when Hitler invaded Poland, starting World War II. Her father was Alexander Mozes, a wealthy farmer. The Mozes' were the only Jewish family in their little village in Portz, Romania. Eva's father was sure the Nazis wouldn't care about them. "My father said as long as you say your prayers, did the good deeds that God wanted you to do, and lived so far away from the big city - that somehow we'd escape." Eva said. "The Nazis won't come here for six Jews." Eva's father was wrong.

In the spring of 1944, the family was taken to a ghetto, and a few weeks later they were on a 70-hour long trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Without food or water the entire trip, Eva and her family were stuffed in a cattle-car with the other Jews of the area. After being let off the at Auschwitz, chaos immediately erupted. Her father and two older sisters were lost in the chaos. Eva and Miriam clung to their mother. A guard began shouting, "twins! twins!". Eva and Miriam were dressed alike, and the guard immediately suspected they were twins. In an instant, the little girls were ripped from their mothers arms. Within thirty minutes, Eva and Miriam had lost their entire family.

Josef Mengele

Eva was determined to give the Nazis as much trouble as a ten year-old could give. It required four SS guards to hold her down as they tattooed A-7063 on her arm. She hysterically screamed for her mother. Although the guards told her she could see her mother soon, Eva knew they were lying and continued to scream louder.

The two girls were taken to Josef Mengele's lab for various experiments. Known as the Angel of Death, Mengele ran all of the selections at Auschwitz and performed bizarre experiments on the inmates to achieve the perfect "Aryan" race - blond, blue-eyed perfect Germans. Mengele was particularly interested in twins and wanted to find the secret of "twinning". Obviously, twins would build the German Master-race faster. Many, many people died brutally from Mengele's experiments.
Eva's first night in Auschwitz was grotesque and horrible. Firstly, a rat was in their barrack. Eva and Miriam were both horrified. Secondly and most horribly, there were the naked corpses of three little children on the dirty barrack latrine. Eva quickly realized this could happen to them, and something happened to her. She promised herself that she would not let Miriam or herself die.

Three times a week, the doctors injected various chemicals in the twins. They would often take blood from one arm, while simultaneously giving shots in the other. After one certain experiment, Eva became deathly ill and had a high fever. The next morning, Mengele told her had only two weeks to live. Eva knew if she died, Mengele would kill Miriam. Eva refused to die. For two weeks, Eva was in and out of consciousness - often faded in and out of unconsciousness on the way to the water faucet on the other side of the barrack. However, Eva fought back bravely, and survived.
On January 27, 1945, after nine months in Auschwitz, the Red Army (Soviet Union) liberated the camp. The Soviets found about 200 children in Auschwitz at liberation, nearly all were from Mengele's experiments.

Liberation, Eva and Miriam are in front

Over a course of nine months, Eva and Miriam were in three different refugee camps. In 1950, the two immigrated to Israel. Over the next ten years in Israel, Eva became a sergeant major in the Israeli Army. It was in Israel where Eva met Holocaust survivor and Michael Kor. Michael and Eva were married in 1960 in Tel Aviv.

Eva and Miriam, 1949

On the 40th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, six Mengele twins visited Auschwitz and then went to a mock trial for Mengele in Jerusalem. The mock trial, with 80 twins participating, gained worldwide publicity and even more Mengele twins came forward.

Shortly after Miriam's death in 1993, Eva was asked by a professor to speak before a group of doctors. She agreed, but the professor asked her if she would bring a Nazi doctor with her. Eva's reply was, "Where do you think I can find a Nazi doctor? Last time I looked in the Yellow pages, they weren't advertising there."
But she did find a Nazi doctor, Hans Münch. Münch worked alongside Mengele in Auschwitz. Unlike most of the Nazi doctors, Münch was known for being humane to the inmates. He was the only one acquitted at the Auschwitz trials. Eva returned to Auschwitz with Hans Münch. Münch signed a documentation of the operation of the gas chambers. In 1995 Eva signed a declaration of amnesty and forgave everybody - most importantly Doctor Mengele. Many Holocaust survivors disagree with her for multiple reasons, but Eva describes forgiveness as self-healing - she did it more for herself than for the Nazis.

front: Michael Kor, Eva Kor,
back: Alex Kor, Rina Kor

What happened to Dr. Mengele, you may ask? When the Soviets overtook Auschwitz, he burned most of his research papers, packed the rest of his experiments and papers in a briefcase, and fled to Argentina. He became an (illegal) abortionist in Argentina, and was shortly tried after a woman died from one of the abortions. After Adolf Eichmann was caught, tried, and hung in the 1960s, Mengele panicked and fled to Paraguay. On a raft in Brazil, he had a heart attack and drowned. He died in February 1979, without facing justice for his crimes.

Today, Eva Kor lives in Terre Haute, Indiana. She has two children, Alex and Rina. She founded a museum called CANDLES: Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors. She speaks all around the world to young people about the Holocaust. She has written two memoirs, one for middle schoolers and up and another for adults. The one for younger readers is called Surviving the Angel of Death. You can get a free full teachers guide here. The one for older readers is called Echoes of Auschwitz. In her documentary Forgiving Dr. Mengele, she describes her life and other Mengele twins' reactions to her forgiveness. To hear her story, here is a 30-minute documentary where Eva tells her story. She has truly dedicated her life to teaching the importance of forgiveness, self-healing, and tolerance.

I am blessed to have met Eva Kor in person; on April 16, 2013. You can read about my experience here. The experience, albeit brief, was unforgettable. She even signed her memoir Echoes of Auschwitz for me.

Eva has five life lessons she believes in. In her own words, they are:

1. Never, EVER give up.

2. Prevent prejudice by judging people only on their actions and content of their character.

3. Forgive your worst enemy - it will heal your soul and set you free.

4. Give your parents an extra hug and kiss for us children who had or have no parents.

5. Each of us has an important part to play in repairing the world. May tikkun olam ("repairing the world" in Hebrew) begin with me!

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In memory of Eva Kor's family, the 1.2 million Jewish children murdered during the Holocaust, and the three million survivors of the Holocaust.

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