In Our Hearts We Were Giants: The Remarkable Story of the Lilliput Troupe—A Dwarf Family's Survival of the Holocaust

“Mesmerizing . . . no reader will fail to admire the Ovitzes,” a family of Jewish performers whose dwarfism helped them survive Auschwitz (Kirkus Reviews).

In this remarkable, never-before-told account of the Ovitz family, seven of whose ten members were dwarves, readers bear witness to the best and worst of humanity and to the terrible irony of the Ovitzes’ fate: being burdened with dwarfism helped them endure the Holocaust.

Israeli authors Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev weave the tale of a beloved and successful family of performers who were famous entertainers in Central Europe until the Nazis deported them to Auschwitz in May 1944.

Descending into the hell of the concentration camp from the transport train, the Ovitz family—known widely as the Lilliput Troupe—was separated from other Jewish victims. Dr. Josef Mengele was notified of their arrival and they were assigned better quarters and provided more nutritious food than other inmates. The authors chronicle Mengele’s experiments upon the Ovitzes, and the creepy fondness he developed for these small people, even the songs he composed and sang to this family of singers, dancers, and klezmorim.

Finally liberated by Russian troops, the family returned to their deserted village in Transylvania, and eventually found their way to a new home in Israel. This is the story of their lives—and how they escaped the fate that befell so many others.

“Unique and unforgettable.” —Publishers Weekly

“Often wrenching and at times, unbelievable.” —The Forward

“Fascinating.” —The Jerusalem Post

© 2025 Grand Central Publishing (Ebook): 9780786738564

Release date

Ebook: 8 April 2025