Free DEKEL, LUCETTE MATALON LAGNADO SHEILA COHN by CHILDREN OF THE FLAMES

this kingdom of death were guaranteed.
    Mengele made sure that his twins would be generally well-treated, at least by Auschwitz standards. They were spared the beatings and punishments inflicted on other inmates. Because they “belonged” to Mengele, no one, not even the most brutal camp guards, would dare lay a hand on them. In addition to keeping their clothes and hair, some of the twins, especially the boys, recall receiving somewhat better food rations than the other prisoners. Although all the twins say they were ravenously hungry throughout their stay, several remember having access to potatoes and slices of bread, which enabled them to survive.
    If caught stealing food-as many did, on a regular basis-they were not severely punished because of their protected status. Most important, the twins were not subjected to the terrifying random selections that adult prisoners faced. As long as they stayed healthy and useful to Dr. Mengele, they would be kept alive.
    The work habits Mengele had developed over the years in Munich and Frankfurt stood him in good stead at Auschwitz. Since his arrival in May 1943, Mengele had distinguished himself in the eyes of the Nazi hierarchy. A superior’s evaluation praised him for being “an excellent officer,” who had shown “maturity and strength.” The report stressed how Mengele had not displayed “any weakness in character or inhibition,” in the resolute way he selected people to die. And one doctor who served with Mengele at Auschwitz, Dr. Munch, remembers him as much more diligent than other SS physicians, many of whom had been dragooned into service at the death camp. This perception of Mengele as more hardworking than his Nazi colleagues is echoed by numerous adult survivors who had the chance to observe him at close range, and who would go on to write about it in their memoirs and testimonies.
    Mengele’s experimental barracks were a showcase of the concentration camp, talked about and admired by the Nazi hierarchy.
    In many ways, the twins’ compound at Auschwitz was a realization of Mengele’s-and Verschuer’s-greatest scientific dream. Verschuer, from his position as director of the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institute in Berlin, was closely involved in his protege’s research, and the two men corresponded regularly. Mengele periodically dispatched to his mentor not only reports about his research, but also laboratory samples from his experiments.
    TWINS’ FATH R: The moment a pair of twins arrived in the barrack, they were asked to complete a detailed questionnaire from the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institute in Berlin. One of my duties as Twins’ Father was to help them fill it out, especially the little ones, who couldn’t read or write.
    These forms contained dozens of detailed questions related to a child’s background, health, and physical characteristics. They asked for the age, weight, and height of the children, their eye color and the color of their hair. They were promptly mailed to Berlin when they were completed.
    After the form was filled out, I would take the twins to Mengele, who asked them additional questions. Mengele had an office and a beautitul blond secretary. Because many of the children only knew Hungarian-and Mengele spoke only German-I would serve as the translator. His gorgeous secretary would write it all down.
    Much of the information Mengele was seeking had to do with demographics-where the family was from, what the parents had done fora living.
    His secretary would measure the children, while Mengele examined them.
    He was especially interested in their hair. I recall he would look closely at the roots, to see how it was growing.
    The questions were connected to the experiments Mengele would later make on the twins.
    One day, I was filling out forms for a new pair of twins and I noticed the date of birth one child had given me was different from the birth date of his sibling. It was obvious they were not really twins. But I knew that if anyone learned