In the hauntingly powerful documentary The Last Twins, audiences are drawn into a deeply personal and devastating chapter of Holocaust history—one that doesn’t just recount brutality, but also uncovers rare acts of humanity amid one of the darkest periods of the 20th century.
Judith Richter opens the film with a somber reflection: “There was some quiet noise in our home.” That paradoxical phrase captures the uneasy silence that often shrouded her family’s history. Her parents, both survivors of Auschwitz, rarely discussed their past. Her mother occasionally spoke of her experiences, but there was a tacit understanding: you did not ask her father about the Holocaust.
And yet, that silence was shattered decades later in the most unexpected of ways. In 1981, while shopping at a grocery store in Boston, Richter’s husband casually picked up an issue of LIFE Magazine featuring planets on the cover. Hidden inside was a story that changed everything. It included a photograph of Richter’s father, Erno “Zvi” Spiegel, and unveiled a narrative the family had never fully heard: his quiet heroism during his time at Auschwitz, where he played a vital and unlikely role in protecting children from the infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele.
Mengele’s House of Horror—and the Children Trapped Within
While the Holocaust is filled with stories of unthinkable brutality, the atrocities committed by Mengele in his so-called “medical experiments” stand out for their sheer cruelty. He focused obsessively on twins—most of them children—subjecting them to gruesome and often fatal procedures under the guise of science. A surviving twin in the documentary recounts Mengele’s peculiar interest in his singing voice. His brother had a lovely, clear tone; he did not. Mengele injected substances into their throats to study the difference. That survivor’s brother died a year after liberation, while he endured permanent damage—his voice lost, his gullet removed, and his speech now aided by a mechanical voice box.
But despite these horrific details, The Last Twins is not a film that dwells solely on Mengele’s sadism. Instead, it turns the spotlight onto the children who lived through this nightmare—and the man who did his best to protect them.
Erno “Zvi” Spiegel: A Man Who Chose Humanity
At 29, Erno Spiegel arrived at Auschwitz from Hungary. Being a twin himself, he was assigned by Mengele to oversee the group of twin boys who were slated for experimentation. Most would not survive. It was an assignment no one would wish for—and yet, Spiegel used his proximity to power not to enforce cruelty but to shield the children from it.
What unfolded in that camp, under unimaginable pressure and constant threat of death, was a quiet but profound act of resistance. Spiegel immediately sought ways to protect the boys. One of his first actions was to alter the birth records of several siblings close in age so they could be identified as twins, buying them temporary safety from immediate extermination.
But Spiegel’s impact went far beyond that. According to Holocaust scholar Yoav Heller, he implemented a system of communal responsibility and solidarity among the children. Food and supplies, rare as they were, were to be shared. The boys were taught basic subjects—math, geography, and history—not because those lessons would help them survive Auschwitz, but because they reminded them that there was still a world beyond it, a world they could one day return to.
Most importantly, Spiegel gave these boys something they were starved for: kindness, structure, and the feeling of being seen. For children stripped of their families, homes, and identities, his presence became a lifeline. Many of the now-elderly survivors speak through tears when remembering him. They didn’t just see him as a guardian—they called him their father.
Spiegel lived by a guiding Jewish principle: “Whoever saves a single life is considered by scripture to have saved the world.” He knew he could not save them all. But he refused to stop trying.
Defying Death, Even When It Seemed Inevitable
In one of the most harrowing incidents recounted in the documentary, a Nazi doctor named Heinz Thilo ordered a group of the twin boys to line up for execution. It was a death sentence. In a moment of astonishing courage, Spiegel risked everything—his life, his position—to confront Mengele directly. Incredibly, Mengele overruled Thilo, and the boys were spared.
Such stories are rare in Holocaust narratives—not because acts of courage didn’t happen, but because the structure of the camps was designed to crush both hope and resistance. Spiegel’s defiance didn’t just save lives; it gave the children a reason to believe in goodness, even as the world around them was filled with horror.
When the Russian army liberated Auschwitz in 1945, Spiegel didn’t immediately leave. Instead, he stayed with the surviving children, caring for them until he could return with them to Hungary. There, he tried to rebuild his life. He met and married a fellow survivor, and eventually the couple moved to Israel, where Spiegel took on a role as CFO of a theater company—a profession he viewed not just as a job, but as a blessing from fate.
A Life Hidden in Silence—Until the World Found Out
Despite all that he had endured and accomplished, Spiegel rarely spoke of his past. For years, his heroism remained unknown to even his closest family members. That changed when the LIFE Magazine story about Mengele unearthed a photo of him. Richter and her family were stunned. They reached out to Spiegel, who began to slowly open up.
Even more remarkably, some of the surviving twins—scattered across the world—also saw the story. They remembered him. And they reached out.
The reunions that followed form some of the most emotional moments in The Last Twins. The surviving men, who had grown up with a sense of trauma and loss, were able to reconnect with the man who had once risked everything for them. The film captures them participating in bar mitzvah ceremonies—celebrations they were robbed of during their youth. For some, it was the first time they had ever marked the occasion.
These scenes aren’t just emotional—they’re revelatory. They show us what the Holocaust tried to extinguish: identity, family, continuity, joy. The survivors’ very existence, and the meaningful lives they built, serve as a direct rebuke to the ideology that tried to erase them.
A Shift in Collective Memory
Judith Richter notes that growing up in Israel, there was once a lack of awareness around the lived experiences of Holocaust survivors. For a time, the prevailing narrative was one of victimhood—Jews who passively allowed themselves to be led to their deaths. Stories like Spiegel’s complicated that image. They showed the nuances: the impossible choices, the quiet resistance, the daily fight for dignity and survival.
And as history began to remember and honor figures like Spiegel, broader public awareness shifted. The trial in absentia of Mengele—who was never captured—also helped bring attention to the stories of his victims and the people who tried to shield them.
An Intimate Documentary, A Universal Message
The Last Twins is directed by Perri Peltz and Matthew O’Neill, whose sensitive interviews form the backbone of the film. While there is some archival footage, the real power of the documentary lies in its raw, heartfelt conversations. The survivors’ recollections, Spiegel’s family insights, and Richter’s reflections create a narrative that is deeply personal yet universally resonant.
What makes this documentary stand out is not just its subject matter, but the grace with which it handles it. The filmmakers do not sensationalize Mengele’s horrors. Instead, they focus on resilience—the slow, fragile process of healing, and the extraordinary courage it takes to remember.
It’s a reminder that stories like Spiegel’s are not just historical footnotes. They are ethical touchstones. In an age where fascism and dehumanization continue to creep into global discourse, these testimonies remain essential. They speak to the eternal power of empathy, of choosing kindness when cruelty is the norm.
Conclusion: A Legacy of Light in the Darkest of Times
The ultimate victory over Nazism wasn’t on the battlefield—it was in the lives rebuilt afterward. In the sons and daughters of those who survived. In the art, culture, scholarship, and communities they helped create.
Erno Spiegel did not win a war. He didn’t lead a rebellion. He simply showed children that their lives mattered when everything around them suggested otherwise. He taught them to care for each other, to believe in survival, and to carry that belief into the future.
And through The Last Twins, that legacy lives on.
