Auschwitz Survivor Called for Forgiveness

Holocaust survivor Eva Kor, who championed forgiveness even for those who carried out the Holocaust atrocities, died Thursday, the AP reports. Kor was in Krakow, Poland, for an annual educational trip, according to the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center, which she founded in Indiana. She was 85. Kor was a Jewish native of Romania who was sent in 1944 to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where most of her family was killed. She and her twin sister survived, but they were subjected to inhumane medical experiments.

Kor later moved to Terre Haute, where she lived for over three decades, raising a family and working in real estate. In 1985, she founded CANDLES, or Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors. Kor's sister Miriam Zeiger died in 1993 of cancer. Kor spoke all over the world, wrote an autobiography, and appeared in multiple documentaries, sharing her story and message of forgiveness. "The themes of Eva's life are apparent. We can overcome hardship and tragedy. Forgiveness can help us to heal," a museum statement said. "And everyone has the power and responsibility to make this world a better place." In 2017, Kor was named as a recipient of the Sachem Award, Indiana's highest honor. Gov. Eric Holcomb said: "Everywhere she went, Eva brought light into darkness and provided comfort to those in pain unlike anyone we've ever met." A public memorial service is planned.