Miriam was severely ill from dysentery and the injections, and she had lost the will to live. Kor heard that potatoes could help dysentery and resolved to steal some despite the risk of execution. She volunteered to carry soup from the kitchen, a job requiring two children to haul a large container. On her first attempt, she reached into a sack of potatoes beneath a table but was caught by a female worker, who scolded her and made her return them. Kor realized her status as one of Mengele’s twins shielded her from harsher punishment.

The next day, she successfully organized—camp slang for stealing—three potatoes and hid them in her dress. At night, after the block supervisor slept, the twins secretly cooked on an oven at the end of the barracks. Some stood guard while others took turns cooking. Kor boiled her potatoes, and she and Miriam shared the meal. Chosen to carry soup once or twice a week, she became adept at stealing potatoes, always taking extra so they could eat them about three times weekly. Mrs. Csengeri and others also cooked at night. Despite their starvation, the girls did not steal from one another.

The potatoes restored Miriam’s health, strength, and will to live. Kor reflects that caring for her sister made her more determined and that prisoners with someone to care for were more likely to survive, though trying to do so required constant work.

In autumn 1944, Allied bombing intensified, giving prisoners hope of liberation. On October 7, the Sonderkommando—Jewish prisoners forced to burn corpses—rebelled and destroyed Crematorium IV with explosives smuggled by Jewish girls in a Nazi factory. Rumors spread that the SS would kill all prisoners as the Allies advanced, but Mengele continued his experiments.

Kor later learned Mengele was ordered to liquidate the “gypsy” camp, the historical name for Section B-IIe, where Romani families were held together. The twins were moved into the now-empty camp near a gas chamber, fearing they would be next. They endured their longest roll call, from 5:00 am to 4:00 pm, standing in snow and cold because a prisoner was missing. Both girls’ feet froze; Miriam’s became frostbitten.

In early January 1945, the SS began death marches. Kor decided she and Miriam would hide rather than go. In their haste, the Nazis failed to check the barracks, leaving behind the twins and others, including Mrs. Csengeri’s daughters. The next morning, the Nazis appeared to have left. A male prisoner cut through barbed wire, allowing movement between camps. Kor searched for supplies while Miriam guarded their few belongings. In the Canada warehouse—where confiscated belongings were stored—Kor found shoes two sizes too big, which she stuffed with rags, along with coats and blankets.

While organizing bread in the kitchen, Kor heard a vehicle. Four Nazis with machine guns burst in and fired indiscriminately. A barrel pointed at her head; she fainted. She woke surrounded by corpses but unharmed and fled. That night, the Nazis set barracks on fire and blew up a crematorium and the Canada building to destroy evidence. SS guards then rounded up those who had stayed for a forced march, shooting into the crowd. Kor and Miriam held hands and kept to the middle. Of the 8,200 forced from Birkenau to the main Auschwitz camp, 1,200 were killed.

When they reached the Auschwitz barracks, the SS suddenly vanished. In the chaos of people scrambling for shelter in a two-story building, Kor lost Miriam. For 24 hours, she ran from barracks to barracks, calling her name. Exhausted, she finally collided with Miriam in a doorway. They collapsed in relief, shared a piece of chocolate someone had given Miriam, vowed never to separate again, and called the building their lucky barracks.

For nine days, the remaining prisoners fended for themselves. Miriam’s frostbitten feet kept her from walking, so she guarded their belongings while Kor organized food with other girls. They broke into Nazi storage buildings and headquarters, where Kor found fresh food on a table; suspecting poison, she left it and later heard she was right. They found sauerkraut and drank its juice for hydration. In a basement, Kor discovered flour, which she carried back in her scarf. They baked flat, unleavened cakes on the stove. One of Kor’s organizing friends died from overeating after prolonged starvation.

Kor and other twins went to the nearby Vistula River for water. Across the river, Kor saw a clean, well-dressed girl with a school bag heading to class. Stunned that a normal world still existed, Kor compared her own ragged, lice-infested condition to the girl’s and felt betrayed by the injustice. The girl stared, then walked away. Angry, Kor broke the ice, collected water, and later boiled it to kill germs. The image haunted her, leaving her convinced the world had failed her.

Battles raged around the camp, making escape impossible. Kor later learned that on January 18, Mengele had fled with two boxes of his research records. For nine days, they heard constant shooting and bombing. On the morning of January 27, 1945, the guns fell silent. Heavy snow covered the gray camp in white. Late that afternoon, a woman ran through the barracks shouting that they were free. Through the snowfall, Kor saw Soviet soldiers in white capes approaching, smiling. Prisoners rushed to embrace them, crying and laughing, and the soldiers distributed cookies and chocolate. Kor realized she had fulfilled her pledge to survive and walk out alive with Miriam.

Kor embraced a Soviet soldier who lifted her into his arms. That night, soldiers and former prisoners celebrated in the barracks with dancing, singing, and vodka. From their bunk, Kor and Miriam joyfully listed everything they would no longer endure. When Miriam said they could do whatever they wanted, Kor thought of their family farm. She told Miriam she wanted to go home, and Miriam agreed. They planned to leave as soon as possible.

The next afternoon, Soviet personnel gathered the surviving children—mostly twins—and asked them to wear striped prison uniforms over their clothes for filming. Kor notes this was the first time they had worn such uniforms, as Mengele’s twins had been exempt. With layers and belongings hidden beneath, the children did not appear as starved as they had been. Kor and Miriam held hands at the front of the line, accompanied by a nurse carrying a small child, as cameramen filmed them marching out of the barracks between the barbed-wire fences. Kor felt like a movie star, recalling the Shirley Temple films her mother had once taken them to see. The cameraman had them repeat the march several times. Kor later learned the footage was Soviet propaganda showing the rescue of Jewish children. For the final take, Kor and Miriam—now 11—marched out in matching striped uniforms, having survived Auschwitz. Their only question was how they would get home.