Ovitz family
The Ovitz family was a Hungarian Jewish family of musicians and entertainers from the Maramureș region whose twelve members survived imprisonment and medical experimentation at Auschwitz during the Holocaust.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Ovitz family was a Hungarian Jewish family of performers originating in Maramureș, a region now in northern Romania. The family became known for the Lilliput Troupe, a traveling musical ensemble formed by Ovitz siblings and relatives during the 1930s. The troupe performed across Romania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, presenting songs and instrumental music in several languages, including Yiddish, Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, and German. Family members of average height helped with stage management and practical matters while the shorter performers appeared before audiences. The family’s history is especially associated with the Holocaust. Their ancestor Shimson Eizik Ovitz, a traveling rabbi and badchen entertainer who had dwarfism, had children by two marriages. Several of his descendants inherited pseudoachondroplasia, while others were of average height. At the beginning of the Second World War, the extended performing group included twelve people, ranging in age from an infant to an older adult. After Northern Transylvania came under Hungarian administration in 1940, anti-Jewish regulations prohibited Jewish entertainers from performing for non-Jewish audiences. The family nevertheless continued touring for a time after obtaining identity papers that concealed their Jewish status. On 12 May 1944, the twelve family members were deported to Auschwitz. Another brother, Arie, avoided the initial roundup but was later arrested and killed. At Auschwitz, the family attracted the attention of Josef Mengele, an SS physician who selected prisoners for hereditary and racial experiments. Because the group included both people with dwarfism and people of average height, Mengele treated them as an unusual family specimen. He arranged for them to be kept together, provided relatively better food and accommodation than many prisoners received, and subjected them to repeated examinations. These included blood collection, dental and hair extraction, bone-related procedures, gynecological examinations, and painful tests involving the eyes and ears. Their apparent protection from immediate murder did not make their situation safe; it reflected their use as experimental subjects. The family survived until the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet forces on 27 January 1945. After a period in a refugee camp, they traveled for months toward their former home and found their property looted. They subsequently moved through Sighet and Belgium before immigrating to Israel in May 1949. In Israel, the survivors reassembled the troupe and resumed public performances, attracting audiences in large concert venues. They retired from touring in 1955 and later operated a cinema in Haifa. The Ovitz family is remembered both for its prewar cultural work and for the exceptional survival of a large, closely related group in Auschwitz. Descendants of the men with dwarfism were born at average height, while the women with dwarfism generally could not become pregnant because of pelvic complications. The family’s last adult dwarf survivor, Perla Ovitz, died in 2001. Their story has been documented in television and film productions, including documentaries and a fictional Israeli feature film.
History
The Ovitz family originated in the Maramureș region of the Austro-Hungarian cultural sphere, in territory that is now part of Romania. The family descended from Shimson Eizik Ovitz, born in 1868, who worked as a badchen entertainer and itinerant rabbi. Shimson himself had dwarfism. He had ten children in two marriages; seven inherited dwarfism, while the others were of average height. This mixture of heights later became central to both the family’s stage identity and the attention they received in Nazi concentration camps. The family’s principal prewar enterprise was the Lilliput Troupe. The siblings developed a professional act built around singing and instrumental performance, using instruments adapted to their size. They traveled widely during the 1930s and early 1940s, appearing in Romania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Their repertoire crossed linguistic and cultural boundaries: performances used Yiddish, Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, and German. Relatives of average height supported the act backstage, and members of the extended family commonly lived together when they were not on the road. The political environment changed sharply during the Second World War. After Hungary occupied Northern Transylvania in 1940, racial legislation restricted Jewish performers from appearing before non-Jewish audiences. Although the Ovitzes were observant Jews, they temporarily continued their work using documents that did not identify them as Jewish. This protection ended in 1944. On 12 May, twelve family members were deported to Auschwitz. Arie Ovitz, an average-height brother, escaped the initial deportation but was later captured and executed. At Auschwitz, Josef Mengele selected the family because it contained several people with dwarfism alongside relatives of average height. Mengele’s interest was pseudoscientific: he sought evidence for theories about heredity and physical difference. The family was kept together and given conditions that were comparatively less harsh than those of many prisoners, but this treatment served the camp’s experimental purpose. Physicians associated with Mengele performed repeated examinations and invasive procedures, including blood draws, removal of teeth and hair, bone-related sampling, eye and ear tests, and gynecological examinations. The family also witnessed the killing and preparation of other small-statured prisoners for display. Their survival depended in part on remaining useful to the experimenters, not on any humane policy. The Ovitzes remained alive when Auschwitz was liberated on 27 January 1945. They spent time in a Soviet refugee camp and then made a difficult journey lasting approximately seven months toward their home region. Finding their house looted, they moved onward to Sighet and later Belgium. In May 1949, they immigrated to Israel and settled in Haifa. There they revived their entertainment career, touring successfully and filling large halls. In 1955, the family ended its touring work and purchased a cinema hall. Later generations continued the family line. Descendants of the men with dwarfism were born at average height, while the women with dwarfism generally did not become pregnant because of anatomical complications associated with their condition. Rozika Ovitz, identified as the firstborn among the dwarf siblings, died in 1984. Perla Ovitz, the last adult dwarf survivor of the family, died in 2001. The family’s experiences have since been presented through documentary and television works, including the 1999 documentary Liebe Perla, the 2006 documentary Standing Tall at Auschwitz, and the 2013 ITV program The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz. A fictionalized version of the family and its Haifa cinema appears in the 2010 Israeli film The Matchmaker.
- 2013
Television adaptation
[1]The family’s history was presented in The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz, an ITV Perspectives episode hosted by Warwick Davis.
- 2001
Death of Perla Ovitz
[1]Perla Ovitz, the last adult dwarf survivor of the family, died.
- 1955
Retirement from touring
[1]The family stopped touring and acquired a cinema hall in Haifa.
- 1949
Immigration to Israel
[1]After traveling through postwar Europe, surviving family members settled in Haifa, Israel.
- 1945
Liberation of Auschwitz
[1]The family survived until the camp’s liberation on 27 January 1945.
- 1944
Deportation to Auschwitz
[1]Twelve members of the family were deported to Auschwitz on 12 May 1944.
- 1940
Restrictions on Jewish performers
[1]After Northern Transylvania came under Hungarian rule, racial laws barred Jewish artists from performing for non-Jewish audiences.
- 1930
Formation of the Lilliput Troupe
[1]Ovitz siblings and relatives formed a traveling musical ensemble that performed across parts of Central and Eastern Europe.
Products and positioning
Not a commercial brand in the conventional sense; the Ovitz family is primarily a historical family and performing ensemble associated with Jewish cultural entertainment, Holocaust survival, and remembrance.
Traveling musical ensemble · 1930
Lilliput Troupe
The Ovitz family’s principal prewar performance enterprise was a traveling ensemble featuring singing and instrumental music. The troupe used small instruments and performed in multiple languages, including Yiddish, Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, and German. It toured Romania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia during the 1930s and early 1940s, with average-height relatives assisting behind the scenes.
Cinema exhibition · 1955
Haifa cinema hall
After retiring from touring in 1955, surviving family members purchased and operated a cinema hall in Haifa. The venue represented a transition from itinerant performance to a more stationary entertainment business in postwar Israel.
Controversies
Marketing campaigns
- 2013The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz
United Kingdom
Warwick Davis presented an ITV Perspectives episode recounting the Ovitz family’s experiences before, during, and after Auschwitz.
Outcome. The television program renewed public attention to the family’s story.
- 2006Standing Tall at Auschwitz
International
A documentary focused on the family’s imprisonment at Auschwitz and survival of Nazi persecution.
Outcome. The production helped bring the family’s account to a wider documentary audience.
- 1999Liebe Perla
Israel · Germany
A documentary incorporating an interview with Perla Ovitz presented the family’s history and her memories of Auschwitz and postwar life.
Outcome. The film became part of the documentary record concerning the Ovitz family and Holocaust survival.
Brand decisions
1955
Shift from touring to cinema operationStrategyBackground
After several years of postwar touring, the family chose a more stationary form of entertainment work.
Action taken
They retired from touring and bought a cinema hall in Haifa.
Aftermath
The cinema became the family’s later known entertainment enterprise.
1949
Re-establishment of the family troupe in IsraelStrategyBackground
After surviving the Holocaust, displacement, and the loss of their former home, the family settled in Haifa.
Action taken
The surviving members resumed touring and performing for Israeli audiences.
Aftermath
They achieved renewed success before retiring from touring in 1955.
Recent events
- 2013
Television documentary examines the Ovitz family story[1]
Other
Warwick Davis presented an episode of ITV’s Perspectives, titled The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz, about the family’s history and survival.
- 1949
The Ovitz family resumes touring in Israel[1]
Other
After immigrating to Israel, surviving members reconstructed their musical act and returned to touring before retiring in 1955.
- 1945
The Ovitz family survives the liberation of Auschwitz[1]
Other
The twelve family members held at Auschwitz survived until the camp was liberated by Soviet forces on 27 January 1945.
Sources1 sources
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