Forgiving Dr. Mengele

Winner of the Special Jury Prize in the Slamdance Film Festival, Forgiving Dr. Mengele is a bold and thought-provoking documentary about a shocking act of forgiveness by Auschwitz survivor Eva Mozes Kor and the firestorm of criticism it has provoked. Eva and her twin sister, Miriam, were victims of Nazi doctor Josef Mengele's cruel genetic experiments — an experience that would haunt them their entire lives. The film follows Eva's metamorphosis from embittered survivor to tireless advocate for reconciliation. This unexpected transformation was sparked when Eva, in an attempt to get information about the experiments, met with another former Auschwitz doctor and was stunned to learn that he also suffered from nightmares about Auschwitz. Eva's ideas about justice, revenge and the possibility of healing through forgiveness — as well as the passionate opposition from other survivors — become a window to a larger discussion of the many ways people define forgiveness. Thrusting itself into the roiling debate about how Jews in general and Holocaust survivors, in particular, must view the perpetrators of Nazi atrocities, Forgiving Dr. Mengele pointedly asks: is it easier to forgive than to forget?