How the Ovitz Family, Known as the Dwarves of Auschwitz, Survived

Josef Mengele made them star specimens in his zoo

When Disney released Snow White and the seven dwarfs in 1937, it had many fans. One of the most unlikely of these was Adolf Hitler, who became so obsessed with dwarfs that he painted them in watercolours. It wasn’t long before the Nazi party acquired their own set of dwarfs.

Joseph Mengele was infamous for conducting bizarre, cruel experiments on those with physical abnormalities; he nicknamed his subjects Mengele’s Zoo. When the Ovitz clan turned up in Auschwitz, Mengele claimed them for his zoo.

The Ovitz Family

The Ovitz were a Jewish family of dwarfs who came from Transylvania. The patriarch of the family was Shimson Elizik. He was a respected rabbi and had fathered ten children; seven of those were born with dwarfism. Their mother encouraged them to perform when he passed away, as all were musical. Their size stopped them from working in other industries; this was an opportunity to work on their terms.

The performers included Rozika, Franziska, Avram, Freida, Micki, Elizabeth and Perla. Together, they performed as the Lilliput Troupe. They performed and toured Central Europe, managing themselves. The three siblings, born of standard height, also travelled with their families as stagehands. The family were extremely close and lived in one large communal house. If one family member married, the spouse moved in with the rest.

The family were performing in Hungary when the Nazis invaded. They arrested anyone they considered unworthy of life and a burden to society. The Ovitz, as Jewish dwarfs, were shipped straight to Auschwitz. On 19th May 1944, Mengele was woken and told that a family of seven dwarfs had arrived in camp.

When Mengele singled them out, members of the same village claimed to be part of the family to save themselves.

Auschwitz Memories

The Ovitz family were so well known in the camp that several other memoirs written by survivors mention them. The stories varied; many remember the Ovitz performing for the camp, which never happened. Some even go as far as saying that they died in Auschwitz when all of them survived. That is not to say they did not endure some horrific savagery at the hands of Mengele.

It was almost dark, and we stood in what looked like a giant 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. — Perla

It is more likely that the chamber they went into was for disinfectant. Records show that once the gassing procedure started, the door could not be opened for fear of poisoning the guards.

Although this story may not be accurate, Mengele saved the family from many beatings from other guards. He arranged for them to have their own quarters, have larger meals and wear their own clothes. Mengele did this for no other reason than he didn’t want his specimens hurt. They, however, saw him as a strange saviour and would call him Your Excellency and sing for him.

Josef Mengele

Mengele’s relationship with the Ovitz was abusive at best and sadistic at worst. Mengele was intrigued by dwarfs, especially females and lavished most of his attention on Frieda. In addition, he would bring the eighteen-month son of one of the family chocolate. At one point, the boy called him dada; he replied, ‘No, I’m not your father, just Uncle Mengele.’

The experiments he carried out were horrific. He started by performing many gynaecological procedures on the family. He would often remove samples without pain relief in terrible painful procedures. Elizabeth stated in her memoir that the assistants around Mengele found these experiments so disturbing they eventually refused to help him. Finally, Mengele, not wanting to kill his prime samples, relented on the gynaecological procedures but carried on more general ones.

It is impossible to put into words the intolerable pain that we suffered, which continued for many days after the experiments ceased. — Elizabeth

The more general experiments involved blinding them with chemicals, extracting hair and tests on various parts of their bodies.

One incident involved the family being taken to a building off camp to perform. When they arrived, they were told to strip naked; the audience of Nazis was invited to poke and prod them in the name of science.

Mengele wanted to prove that Jewish people were degenerating into dwarves and cripples. He felt his experiments would confirm this.

Mengele would also film home movie’s for Hitler where the family were made to sing German songs to the camera, for the Fuhrer’s entertainment.

Surviving Auschwitz

When the Soviets liberated the camp in 1945, Mengele fled, leaving the Ovitz to walk out. Every family member survived their ordeal at The Angel of Death’s hands. They emigrated to Israel in 1949. Three months later, they were back on stage performing, which they continued to do until 1955. Most members of the family lived into their 90s, the last member of the family, Perla, died in 2001.

Josef Mengele was never captured and held accountable for his war crimes; he escaped through the Ratlines and died in Brazil in 1979.

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