DEKEL, LUCETTE MATALON LAGNADO SHEILA COHN by CHILDREN OF THE FLAMES
Authors: CHILDREN OF THE FLAMES
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evil spirit the Bible calls the Malach Hamavet than Dr. Josef Mengele of Auschwitz.
The Angel of Death is a figure who appears throughout the Old Testament. By chilling coincidence, the biblical lore even states he assumed the form of a physician, one, moreover, “of excellent repute.”
The ancient spiritual leader of Bratislava, Rabbi Nahman, once observed that “it was difficult for the Angel of Death to slay everyone, so He found doctors to assist him.” Terrifying, utterly without mercy or compassion, the Angel of Death visited the earth clothed in a doctor’s garb and cut an endless swath of destruction. “Even if the Almighty were to order me back upon earth to live my life all over again, I would refuse because of the horror of the Angel of Death,” said Rabbi Nahman-a view that many of Mengele’s victims would doubtless have shared.
The bizarre, almost poetic title stuck because it captured so well the contradictions in Mengele’s character. Like the spirit Malach Hamavet, Mengele was a master destroyer, a Satanic figure brimming with evil and without regard for the value of a human life. But also like his namesake, Mengele was “angelic” in appearance and demeanor, able to charm, to woo, to captivate, to trick and seduce, everyone he met, most especially young children.
PETER SOMOGYL: When we first met Dr. Mengele, my brother and I noticed he was whistling. Both of us had studied classical music in Hungary, and we recognized the tune as a work of Mozart. We told this to Mengele.
He was absolutely delighted. It made for an instant rapport. We could also speak German fluently, and Mengele seemed very pleased with that, as well.
We became Mengele’s special proteges. He nicknamed us “the members of the intelligentsia.”
Mengele related to the twins on diflerent levels. With my brother and me, he liked to discuss music. We had long talks with him about culture. Perhaps because of this, we were not afraid of the experiments-or of him.
Once or twice, he took us to his office. There, he measured us, weighed us. He checked the size of our heads, of our eyes. He did this very gently.
I remember thinking Mengele was rather a nice man.
The massive number of Hungarian transports sent many more guinea pigs Mengele’s way. Although the twins were from the start the focus of Mengele’s work at Auschwitz, like every other SS doctor there he had his share of routine duties, such as signing death certificates and making sure outbreaks of contagious maladies like TB and cholera did not get out of hand.
Occasionally, to relieve the tedium, Mengele would demand a show of the new arrivals. One especially hot July day, a group of Hungarian rabbis descended from the cattle car. Despite the stifling heat, they were still wearing their traditional garb long black coats, black woolen trousers, and fur hats. Mengele looked them up and down with contempt, then decided to amuse himself before motioning them to the gas chambers. First, he ordered the rabbis to step out of the selection line and sing. The holy men obeyed without a word of protest. Then, Mengele commanded them to dance. He wanted them to raise their arms and their voices toward the God who would not save them, no matter how loud their prayers.
And so the Hungarian rabbis began to dance, slowly, ponderously, under the sweltering sun of Auschwitz. They held their heads high, determined to preserve their dignity. With their eyes fixed to the sky, the rabbis chanted the
“Kol Nidre,” the mournful hymn of atonement, while Josef Mengele listened, unrepentant.
Mengele’s zeal for his work clearly impressed his superiors, who showered him with accolades that terrible summer. He was now at the height of his powers. As chief doctor of Birkenau, the huge extermination center next to Auschwitz, he presided over a doomed population of Gypsies, twins, and several thousand female inmates.
Although there were Nazis at Auschwitz who held higher ranks, none was as
The Angel of Death is a figure who appears throughout the Old Testament. By chilling coincidence, the biblical lore even states he assumed the form of a physician, one, moreover, “of excellent repute.”
The ancient spiritual leader of Bratislava, Rabbi Nahman, once observed that “it was difficult for the Angel of Death to slay everyone, so He found doctors to assist him.” Terrifying, utterly without mercy or compassion, the Angel of Death visited the earth clothed in a doctor’s garb and cut an endless swath of destruction. “Even if the Almighty were to order me back upon earth to live my life all over again, I would refuse because of the horror of the Angel of Death,” said Rabbi Nahman-a view that many of Mengele’s victims would doubtless have shared.
The bizarre, almost poetic title stuck because it captured so well the contradictions in Mengele’s character. Like the spirit Malach Hamavet, Mengele was a master destroyer, a Satanic figure brimming with evil and without regard for the value of a human life. But also like his namesake, Mengele was “angelic” in appearance and demeanor, able to charm, to woo, to captivate, to trick and seduce, everyone he met, most especially young children.
PETER SOMOGYL: When we first met Dr. Mengele, my brother and I noticed he was whistling. Both of us had studied classical music in Hungary, and we recognized the tune as a work of Mozart. We told this to Mengele.
He was absolutely delighted. It made for an instant rapport. We could also speak German fluently, and Mengele seemed very pleased with that, as well.
We became Mengele’s special proteges. He nicknamed us “the members of the intelligentsia.”
Mengele related to the twins on diflerent levels. With my brother and me, he liked to discuss music. We had long talks with him about culture. Perhaps because of this, we were not afraid of the experiments-or of him.
Once or twice, he took us to his office. There, he measured us, weighed us. He checked the size of our heads, of our eyes. He did this very gently.
I remember thinking Mengele was rather a nice man.
The massive number of Hungarian transports sent many more guinea pigs Mengele’s way. Although the twins were from the start the focus of Mengele’s work at Auschwitz, like every other SS doctor there he had his share of routine duties, such as signing death certificates and making sure outbreaks of contagious maladies like TB and cholera did not get out of hand.
Occasionally, to relieve the tedium, Mengele would demand a show of the new arrivals. One especially hot July day, a group of Hungarian rabbis descended from the cattle car. Despite the stifling heat, they were still wearing their traditional garb long black coats, black woolen trousers, and fur hats. Mengele looked them up and down with contempt, then decided to amuse himself before motioning them to the gas chambers. First, he ordered the rabbis to step out of the selection line and sing. The holy men obeyed without a word of protest. Then, Mengele commanded them to dance. He wanted them to raise their arms and their voices toward the God who would not save them, no matter how loud their prayers.
And so the Hungarian rabbis began to dance, slowly, ponderously, under the sweltering sun of Auschwitz. They held their heads high, determined to preserve their dignity. With their eyes fixed to the sky, the rabbis chanted the
“Kol Nidre,” the mournful hymn of atonement, while Josef Mengele listened, unrepentant.
Mengele’s zeal for his work clearly impressed his superiors, who showered him with accolades that terrible summer. He was now at the height of his powers. As chief doctor of Birkenau, the huge extermination center next to Auschwitz, he presided over a doomed population of Gypsies, twins, and several thousand female inmates.
Although there were Nazis at Auschwitz who held higher ranks, none was as
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