Forgiving Mengela: One Woman's Journey to Forgive

I just finished watching a documentary titled Forgiving Mengela and found it quite thought provoking and educational.

This documentary follows the story of Eva Kor who was one of Mengela's twins (Mengela had a fascination with twins) whom he experimented on (he experimented on her and her sister Miriam as well as thousands of other twins as well as adults). Approximately 40 years after the war she found one of the doctors that worked with Mengela, Dr. Munch (there's two dots that go over the u). Dr. Munch has been credited by many of the twins in the camps for saving their lives, and thus, he was acquitted.

Let me explain how and why Dr. Munch came into play (which the movie does as well). Her sister's kidney never developed because of something Mengela injected into her while in the camp. Eva was trying find out what it was to save her sister's life. Eva learned of a doctor that worked with Mengela (but never did any of the experiments), which was Munch. She did speak with him and showed him pictures and such. She asked him to join her on a trip to Auschwitz, which he agreed.

Dr. Munch expressed a lot to Eva, some we heard and some we didn't (which I would like to have heard the entire exchange of words between Eva and Munch). I believe it was during her meeting with Munch that forgiving came into play. She forgave for herself and anybody else. But what took place afterwards is what got me. I will not expand on that for I will tell too much, as if I haven't already.

There is a part in the movie in which she travels to Israel to meet with some Palestinians (the reason for the trip escapes me right now) and during the meeting they begin to tell their stories of suffering at the hands of the Israelites. During the telling of these stories the camera shows Eva's expressions and they are expressions of her being quite agitated. She even expressed to the people that doesn't want to hear the stories. I have read some reviews (from those on Netflix) who seem to not understand how she couldn't, rather, wouldn't listen to the stories of the Palestinians and what they experienced at the hands of Israelites (I hope I am using the name properly) and she makes it very clear on the reason.

She is not a narcissist, as one reviewer liked to call her. She is not a self-absorbed woman as others have referred to her. I do not believe those reviewers were listening to her words. There is so much to the story that was over looked by some people. Not all, just some. The ones that did not bash her listened to what was and was not being said. They got the full picture and I hope others will as well.

Forgiving Mangela. Directed by Bob Hercules and Cheri Pugh. Released 2006. Available on DVD.