Forgiving Dr. Mengele

Bob Hercules and Cheri Pugh's portrait of Auschwitz survivor/author Eva Mozes Kor offers an uncommonly moving and deeply disturbing examination of justice and absolution. Kor and her identical twin sister Miriam were the subjects of grotesque genetic experiments conducted by Josef Mengele at Auschwitz under the Nazi regime. Miraculously, the girls survived, and both were prominently featured in the now-classic newsreel footage of the concentration camp's liberation. Kor, a real estate agent in Terre Haute, IN, and founder of the local Holocaust Museum and Education Center, sparked controversy in 1995 with her public declaration of forgiveness towards the Nazis in general and Mengele in particular—an act that drew the ire (sometimes rude and brutal) of other Holocaust survivors. Admittedly, as seen here, Kor is a somewhat strident personality (her side-trip to Israel—complete with a rancorous foray into that country's relationship with the Palestinians in the occupied territories—will not win her fans); nonetheless, Forgiving Dr. Mengele—although a tough, often uncomfortable film to watch—poses sharp questions about the nature of forgiveness. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)