Holocaust Survivor Who Saved Hundreds of Jewish Children Dies at 99

Mrs. Hadassah Karlebach, a Holocaust survivor credited with saving hundreds of Jewish children from the Nazis in occupied France, passed away on Sunday at the age of 99. Born Hadassah Schneerson in Leningrad in 1927, she endured Soviet persecution before her family managed to emigrate to Mandatory Palestine in 1935. Her father, Rabbi Shneur Zalman Schneerson, later moved the family to Paris in 1936, where he established the "Kehilat HaChareidim" organization to support Jewish refugees.

During World War II, as the Nazis occupied France, Karlebach, then a young woman, worked alongside her father at a kosher children's home. The home, initially in Châtillon-Coligny and later moved to Marseille, provided refuge and education for Jewish children amidst severe hardship and constant danger. Karlebach served as a cook and teacher, recalling periods of extreme hunger where children subsisted on bread and green peppers, with only one egg allocated per child per month. Despite the dire conditions, strict adherence to kashrut and Jewish education was maintained.

Karlebach's father was appointed by the OSE (Œuvre de Secours aux Enfants) organization to manage the children's home. When the Gestapo was rumored to be planning a raid, the children were secretly evacuated to new hiding places. The family faced numerous close calls, including the temporary capture and torture of Karlebach's mother, and Karlebach herself narrowly escaped death multiple times while moving children through dangerous terrain. Ultimately, many of the children were successfully smuggled across the border to neutral Switzerland, though a group of 16 was tragically deported to Auschwitz, with only one survivor.

After the liberation of France in 1945, the family worked to reunite children with any surviving relatives. In 1947, the family emigrated to the United States. Karlebach married Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim Karlebach in 1949, becoming a prominent figure in the New Jersey Jewish community and at the Carlebach Shul in Manhattan. Throughout her life, she shared her testimony, emphasizing the importance of Holocaust remembrance and maintaining Jewish identity. She is survived by her five daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

The funeral procession is scheduled to pass by the Lubavitcher Rebbe's headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn.