Results: The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz

From The Guardian: The Ovitz family, from the village of Rozavlea in Transylvania, was the largest recorded family of dwarves: a dwarf father who sired 10 children, seven of them dwarves. Throughout history, dwarves had been entertainers, often part of a circus or vaudeville show. They appropriately named their musical ensemble the Lilliput Troupe, and for 15 years had a flourishing career in central Europe. Their two-hour show consisted of popular hits of the day, skits and music.On 19 May 1944, they were brought to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp because they were Jews. But, by a twist of fate, their disability played for them. The famous Nazi torture doctor Josef Mengele took an interest in the Ovitz family. Mengele was aiming not only to discover the biological and pathological causes of the birth of dwarves, but to demonstrate the racial theory that in the course of its long history, the Jewish race had degenerated into a people of dwarves and cripples.Were you aware that Mengele experimented on dwarfs?

'I was saved by the grace of the devil," Holocaust survivor Perla Ovitz told us. Again and again, she recounted in detail how she and her family were taken to the gas chamber and ordered to strip naked. A heavy door opened and they were pushed inside. "It was almost dark and we stood in what looked like a large washing room, waiting for something to happen. We looked up to the ceiling to see why the water was not coming. Suddenly we smelled gas. We gasped heavily, some of us fainting on the floor. With our last breath we cried out. Minutes passed, or maybe just seconds, then we heard an angry voice from outside – 'Where is my dwarf family?' The door opened, and we saw Dr Mengele standing there. He ordered us to be carried out and had cold water poured on us to revive us." Have you heard of the Ovitz family known as the dwarfs of Auschwitz?

A documentary on the Smithsonian chanel called The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz shows the actor, Warwick Davis, presenting the story of the Ovitz family and their ordeal during WWII. From a successful musical act to being tortuously experimented on by Dr. Josef Mengele in a concentration camp. This story might have been lost to history if it weren't for the family's diminutive size, which made them both a novelty as well as an inspiration.Will you view this documentary on the Smithsonian chanel?

Are you or have you met a Holocaust survivor?