In Our Hearts We Were Giants: the Remarkable Story of the Lilliut Troupe- A Dwarf Family's Survival of thew Holocaust - Yehuda Koren, Eilat Negev

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 during the Holocaust.

Through dogged 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 have to be 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.

A powerful testament to the human spirit—-and a hitherto untold tale in Holocaust literature— In Our Hearts We Were Giants is a triumphant and unforgettable saga.

16 pages of archival photographs.

Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev are journalists for the major Israeli daily newspaper; Yedioth Achronot, and contribute to major British periodicals. In addition to their interviews with Perla Ovitz, fans, neighbors and survivors, they tracked down significant medical documentation and archival lists and unearthed original records from Auschwitz.

Carrol & Graf Publishers, 2004, hardcover