Is It Time for Jews to Leave the UK?
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At Auschwitz, a 29-year-old Hungarian Jew named Erno "Zvi" Spiegel risked his life daily to protect boys from Josef Mengele. His story is finally being told.
Josef Mengele gave Erno "Zvi" Spiegel two choices: cooperate with his experiments on boy twins, or die. Spiegel chose survival — and used it to save as many boys as he could.
In 1944, Spiegel was a 29-year-old Hungarian Jewish prisoner at Auschwitz-Birkenau. He survived the gas chambers for a single reason: he was a twin. Nazi doctor Josef Mengele spared twins for his brutal experiments, giving Spiegel something rare in that dark place — a chance to act.
Mengele put him in charge of about 80 boy twins, forcing him to translate for the Nazis and document the details of the brutal procedures. Spiegel couldn't stop them from happening, but he tried to keep the boys alive in any way possible, becoming a father figure to them.
Erno Spiegel
After liberation, the boys begged Spiegel not to leave them, so he walked them all out of Auschwitz, braving a frigid winter and the mayhem of wartime Europe to bring them home to Hungary.
His story is the subject of a fascinating PBS documentary, "The Last Twins," narrated by actor Liev Schreiber, which premieres June 15th.
For many years, Spiegel did not speak in detail about what occurred during the war.
"I grew up knowing fragments — I had only very basic information," said his daughter, Dr. Judith Richter, an executive producer on the film. "I knew that my father had been a twin in Auschwitz, that he had a number, and that his sister had been there with him — but beyond that, there was very little detail. It was not something he spoke about at length."
Still, there were a few facts that lingered with her.
"I knew he was liberated on January 27th by the Russian army. And I knew that exactly one year later, on that same date, he got married. That juxtaposition — between liberation and the beginning of a new life — always felt deeply symbolic, even before I fully understood the story behind it. Only much later did I begin to grasp the depth of what happened to him, and the choices he had made during that time."
Twins Gvorgy and Istvan Kun who were saved by Spiegel
Richter hopes viewers will be inspired to make a difference in the world after seeing her father's story.
"The film is about the impact of choices, and holding on to humanity, even in the darkest circumstances. I hope people understand that every action matters — that they matter. You don't need power or position to do something meaningful. My father had none, yet he chose to act. He tried to protect the children, he would give them lessons in geography or math, creating moments of normalcy in an impossible reality. He also insisted on calling them by their names, not by the numbers they were assigned in the camp. These were simple acts, but they were his way of preserving their dignity."
Richter discovered the full truth decades later, by chance, while reading a story on Mengele in LIFE magazine. That propelled her to launch a years-long journey to uncover his past.
"Over time, I began to understand that what he had done was not only extraordinary, but also deeply relevant to how we think about moral choice and responsibility."
Because of that LIFE article, Spiegel was able to reconnect with many of the Holocaust survivors he had helped, a few of whom are featured in the documentary.
Dr. Judith Richter
"Meeting the men my father helped save was one of the most meaningful and emotional parts of this journey," said Richter. "They had gone on to build full lives — families, careers, entire worlds — and there was a quiet but powerful awareness that my father had been part of that chain of survival."
Finding them was a gradual and, in many ways, organic process. Some were identified through testimonies and archival records at Yad Vashem (Israel's Holocaust memorial and archive). From there, one connection led to another, as people shared names, memories, and relationships that helped piece the story together.
Richter first met a group in 1985, following a mock trial at Yad Vashem.
"And from that moment, the circle continued to expand. Not everyone I met is included in the film. Some of those who shared their stories with me over the years are no longer alive. Their absence is deeply felt, but their voices remain an essential part of the story we set out to preserve."
The decision to make the film came from Richter's sense that her father's life should not remain private.
"It is not only a family story — it is a human story. At a time when the number of survivors who can tell their stories firsthand is rapidly diminishing, there is an urgency to preserve and share accounts that speak not only to what happened, but to how individuals chose to act within it."
"The Last Twins" premieres on PBS on Monday, June 15th.
