As the son of two Holocaust survivors, Dr. Alex Kor is full of stories and has the book to prove it. Released by Pediment Publishing in May 2024, “A Blessing, Not a Burden: My Parents’ Remarkable Holocaust Story and My Fight to Keep Their Legacy Alive” discusses not only historical prejudice, but also antisemitism the Kor family endured once they settled in Indiana after World War II.
Kor’s parents shared a common experience but differed as individuals. His mother, Eva Mozes Kor, was a real estate agent and prominent speaker and activist who detailed her controversial stance of forgiving her Nazi captors in a 2013 Evansville Living interview. Her husband, Mickey, lived a more private life as a pharmacist.
Kor — who was raised in Terre Haute and served as the University of Evansville men’s basketball podiatrist in the early 1990s — began working on the book in August 2023 with co-author Graham Honaker. One motivation was to tell his father’s story since it was lesser known than his mother’s. He also describes the book “as a call to action for other descendants of the Holocaust. That is, with Holocaust survivors being the casualty of time, I hope children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren read the book and are motivated to make a difference in this world.”
Two months into their work, Israel was attacked by Hamas. “The domino effect was that people of all ages, including Jewish students at middle schools, high schools, and colleges, now faced harassment, threats, physical and verbal abuse,” Kor says. “ … I try to demonstrate how my parents and other Holocaust survivors overcame incredible odds to regain their freedom and pursue their hopes and dreams. I can only hope that our young people will follow a similar path without having to deal with the ills of anti-Semitism.”
Proceeds from the book go to CANDLES (Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors) Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Terre Haute, which Eva Kor founded, as well as a Butler University scholarship in her name.
