Eva Mozes Kor (January 31, 1934 – July 4, 2019) was a Holocaust survivor whose life became a global symbol of resilience, moral courage, and the complicated power of forgiveness.

As a child, Eva and her twin sister Miriam were deported from Romania to Auschwitz, where they were subjected to brutal human experiments conducted by Infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele. Their parents and two older sisters were murdered in the Holocaust. Only Eva and Miriam survived.

Decades later, Eva and Miriam established the CANDLES—an acronym for Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors— as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit  to locate other surviving twins who had been subjected to Josef Mengele’s experiments at Auschwitz. Through their efforts, they identified 122 surviving Mengele twins living across ten countries and four continents, and the search for others continues today.

In 1995, Eva opened the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Terre Haute, Indiana. The building was destroyed by arson in 2003, but the community rallied to rebuild and dedicate a new museum in 2005. It continues today as a vital educational resource that draws visitors from around the world.

Through the lens of the Holocaust, CANDLES helps visitors of all ages understand the consequences of human choices, the dangers of prejudice, the importance of perseverance, and the ongoing need to prevent genocide. Its permanent exhibit, Choices: The Holocaust Through Eva’s Story, follows Eva’s life from her childhood before the war, through the rise of Nazism and her imprisonment at Auschwitz, to establishing a family in Terre Haute with beloved husband Mickey, children Alex and Rena; and finally her later journey toward forgiveness.