Love University with Dr. Alexander Avila

FROM TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH—WITH SPECIAL GUEST RICHARD K. LOWY, INTERNATIONAL EVENT PRODUCER AND AUTHOR OF KALMAN & LEOPOLD: SURVIVING MENGELE’S AUSCHWITZ

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Have you ever carried a family secret so heavy that the only way to heal was to bring it into the open?

On this week’s episode of Love University, we sat down with Richard K. Lowy—international event producer, creative director, and now author of Kalman & Leopold: Surviving Mengele’s Auschwitz (Jan 2025). Through deep, painstaking interviews with his father, Leopold, and his father’s childhood friend, Kalman, Richard uncovers how two Hungarian-Jewish boys—friends by circumstance—survived Josef Mengele’s experiments, served SS guards, endured unspeakable horror, and ultimately reunited more than five decades later.

Here are a few highlights from our conversation:

  • From stages to testimony. Richard had a successful career producing events for icons like Van Morrison and thought leaders such as Malcolm Gladwell, but says he reached a tipping point: the weight of his father’s unwritten history was greater than the draw of any concert or summit.
  • The bridge between film and book. His documentary, Leo’s Journey, became the foundation for deeper psychological layers in the memoir—exploring post-traumatic growth, social support as a buffer, gallows humor, and how friendship can serve as a lifeline in extreme trauma.
  • Friendship as survival, and the science behind it. In the camps, Kalman and Leopold became a “protective pair.” Psychological research supports the concept that in trauma zones, strong dyadic bonds (pairs) lower mortality risk. Richard also explores reciprocal altruism (mutual giving and protection between two people) and how it plays out in survival—each risking for the other, not out of obligation, but from shared trust.
  • Humor, grief, and truth. The memoir includes moments of gallows humor—dark laughter amid horror. Richard says that while the book risks jarring readers, it was essential to preserve the emotional authenticity of his father’s voice.
  • Tragedy as a platform for inspiration. With his media appearances and public speaking, Richard’s mission is to turn sacred memory into living purpose—raising witnesses, protectors, and storytellers to resist forgetting the unforgettable.

    • Always remember Richard’s lesson we need to learn: suffering doesn’t just require remembrance—it demands witness, action, and connection.

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    Love University with Dr. Alexander AvilaBy Dr. Alexander Avila
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