In our hearts we were Giants
Rozavlea – Giants, Scholars and Dwarfs
This is the title of a well-known book about a peculiar family from Rozavlea. The Ovitz family who had several members of the family known as dwarves formed a special troupe that demonstrated a remarkable talent for singing, playing musical instruments, and acting-the Liliput Troupe. They owned the best house in the village, and a big car capable of transporting them and their equipment. They were deported to Auschwitz with the rest of Jews from Maramureș but managed to survive due to Dr. Mengele’s interest for this special case. Under Mengele’s protection, the dwarfs and their “relatives” befitted the prisoner aristocracy; they wore their ostentatiously elegant outfits, occupied separate quarters of the camp, and they were provided with miniature furniture appropriate to their size but often called to provide blood for the pseudo-scientific experiments. The Liliput Troupe moved to Belgium in 1946 and to Israel in 1949.
As seen on
On the Hasidic trail of Maramureș
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