On November 4th, Holocaust survivor, Eva Mozes Kor, spoke to the people of Murfreesboro about her experience in Auschwitz during the Holocaust.

Kor had to endure multiple experiments because she was a twin. These were called the Mengele Experiments.  

Eva and her sister Miriam were having a normal day when a group of men stormed into their house and told them that they had two hours to pack all of their belongings. They were then piled into a train car with other families and told that they were being sent to work at a labor camp in Hungary.  

They all sat in silence on the ride. One of the passengers asked a question, and the answer came back in German. 

They realized that they were not in Hungary, but that they were being sent to a concentration camp to die. 

When they exited the train car, Eva, Miriam, and their mother were separated from their father and two sisters. That would be the last time Eva saw them.  

Eventually, Eva and Miriam were separated from their mother as well. They were then sent to a place where all of the twins lived to endure years of poking and prodding from scientists.  

In 1945, Auschwitz was liberated, and the girls were finally freed. They were eventually able to get their lives back to normal. 

Years later, Eva was interviews for different TV shows. One show asked her to bring a Nazi doctor with her for the interview. At first, she was shocked, but eventually came around to the idea.  

In 1995, fifty years after her release, Eva met with a Nazi doctor that worked at Auschwitz at the same time that she was there. He told her he was in charge of signing off on the gas chambers. After everyone in the gas chamber died, they would sign just one death certificate. 

No names: only a number. The total number that perished on an individual day. 

Eva asked him to go with her to Auschwitz to sign a document about how the people who suffered were never recognized. After this happened, Eva wanted to think of a way to thank him for doing that for her.  

After trying to think of a way to send her thanks for ten months, she finally decided that she was going to send him a letter forgiving him for what he had done. She said that this was the thing that truly freed her. 

This lecture really spoke to me. It was a life changing experience getting to hear a Holocaust survivor speak in person.  

It has impacted me in changing the way I look at the world and how I interact with other people. We need to get rid of all the prejudice in the world and treat everyone with kindness and respect. 

Eva now tours around the world spreading her story to audiences young and old. Her words will continue to inspire people and encourage them to learn the power of forgiveness.