In our hearts we were giants : the remarkable story of the Lilliput Troupe : a dwarf family's survival of the Holocaust

This Remarkable, Never-before-told Account Of The Ovitz Family, Seven Of Them 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 Last Surviving Ovitz Sibling, And Other Relatives, Koren And Negev Weave The Tale Of A Beloved And Successful Family 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 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 Survive.--back Cover. 1 Transylvania, 1868 1 -- 2 Rozavlea, 1923 13 -- 3 Rozavlea, 1930 23 -- 4 On The Road, 1931-1940 37 -- 5 Hungary, 1940 47 -- 6 Maramures, Easter 1944 57 -- 7 Auschwitz-birkenau, May 1944 71 -- 8 Auschwitz-birkenau, June 1944 85 -- 9 Auschwitz-birkenau, July 1944 103 -- 10 Auschwitz-birkenau, August 1944 119 -- 11 Auschwitz-birkenau, September 1944 133 -- 12 Auschwitz-birkenau, October 1944 147 -- 13 Auschwitz-birkenau, November 1944 159 -- 14 Auschwitz-birkenau, December 1944 169 -- 15 Auschwitz-birkenau, January 1945 187 -- 16 On The Road, 1945 199 -- 17 Sighet-antwerp, 1945-1949 209 -- 18 Haifa, 1949-1954 225 -- 19 Haifa, 1955-1979 241 -- 20 Haifa, 1980-1992 253 -- 21 Haifa, 1993-2001 265 -- 22 Rozavlea-auschwitz, September 2000 275. Yehuda Koren And Eilat Negev. Originally Published In German, C2003 By Ullstein Heyne List Gmbh. & Co., Kg, Munich. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 291-295) And Index. "This 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 research and interviews with Perla, the youngest Ovitz daughter and last surviving sibling, and other witnesses, Israeli 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 into the hell of the concentration camp from the transport train, the Ovitz family - known widely as the Lilliput Troupe - was separated from other Jewish inmates. When Dr. Josef Mengele learned of their arrival, he assigned them to sequestered quarters. Already embarked on his horrific "research" on twins and other genetically unique individuals, Mengele developed 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, the songs he sang to them, and their determination to make it out of Auschwitz alive. Perla explains the irony of their survival this way: "If I ever wondered why I was born a dwarf, my answer would by that my handicap... was God's only way to keep me alive." Finally liberated by Russian troops, the family returned to their deserted village in Transylvania, and eventually found their way to a new home and renewed success as performers in Israel."--BOOK JACKET. The remarkable story of a family of Jewish performers whose dwarfism helped them survive Auschwitz: “Mesmerizing . . . no reader will fail to admire the Ovitzes.” —Kirkus Reviews In this remarkable, never-before-told account of the Ovitz family, seven of whose ten members were dwarves, readers bear 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. Israeli authors Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev weave the tale of a beloved and successful family of performers who were famous entertainers in Central Europe until the Nazis deported them to Auschwitz in May 1944. Descending into the hell of the concentration camp from the transport train, the Ovitz family—known widely as the Lilliput Troupe—was separated from other Jewish victims. Dr. Josef Mengele was notified of their arrival and they were assigned better quarters and provided more nutritious food than other inmates. The authors chronicle Mengele’s experiments upon the Ovitzes, and the creepy fondness he developed for these small people, even the songs he composed and sang to this family of singers, dancers, and klezmorim. Finally liberated by Russian troops, the family returned to their deserted village in Transylvania, and eventually found their way to a new home in Israel. This is the story of their lives—and how they escaped the fate that befell so many others. “Fascinating.” —The Jerusalem Post

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.

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 familyknown widely as the Lilliput Troupewas 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. In this remarkable, never-before-told account of the Ovitz family, seven of whose ten members were dwarves, readers bear witness to the best and worst of humanity and to the terrible irony of the Ovitz's fate: being burdened with dwarfism helped them endure the Holocaust. Israeli authors Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev weave the tale of a beloved and successful family of performers who were famous entertainers in Central Europe until the Nazis deported them to Auschwitz in May 1944. Descending into the hell of the concentration camp from the transport train, the Ovitz family—known widely as the Lilliput Troupe—was separated from other Jewish victims. Dr. Josef Mengele was notified of their arrival and they were assigned better quarters and provided more nutritious food than other inmates. The authors chronicle Mengele's experiments upon the Ovitz's, and the creepy fondness he developed for these small people, even the songs he composed and sang to this family of singers, dancers, and klezmorim. Finally liberated by Russian troops, the family returned to their deserted village in Transylvania, and eventually found their way to a new home in Israel. They resumed their careers, overcame their handicaps and became wealthy and successful performers. In this remarkable, never-before-told account of the Ovitz family, seven of whose ten members were dwarves, readers bear witness to the terrible irony of the Ovitz's fate: being burdened with dwarfism helped them to endure the Holocaust. Through research and interviews with the youngest Ovitz daughter, Perla, the troupe's last surviving member, and other relatives, the authors weave the tale of a beloved and successful family of performers who were famous entertainers in Central Europe until the Nazis deported them to Auschwitz in May 1944. Descending into the hell of the concentration camp from the transport train, the Ovitz family—known widely as the Lilliput Troupe— was separated from other Jewish victims. When Josef Mengele was notified of their arrival, they were assigned better quarters and provided more nutritious food than other inmates. Authors Koren and Negev chronicle Mengele's experiments upon this family and the creepy fondness he developed for them.... When the last of his 10 children was born in 1921, Shimshon Eizik Ovitz had the distinction of having fathered the largest dwarf family in the world. Twenty-four years later, his seven dwarf children, two of their normal-sized siblings and a handful of their spouses and cousins set a more tragic record as one of only two extended families to survive Auschwitz intact. The same physical characteristics that frequently rendered them helpless made them endlessly appealing to the notorious Dr. Josef Mengele, who tormented them in the name of genetic research