Oldest Holocaust Survivor in Israel, Yehuda Widawski, Dies at 107

Yehuda Aharon Widawski, believed to be the oldest Holocaust survivor in Israel, passed away on Sunday evening at the age of 107, just before Rosh Hashanah. Born in Poland in 1919, Widawski was confined with his family to the Łódź Ghetto following the Nazi invasion. He was later deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where he lost his parents and most of his siblings. He and his brother, Yehoshua, survived a selection by Josef Mengele before being transferred to the Friedland labor camp. They were liberated by the Red Army in 1945.

After the war, Widawski assisted the Irgun in procuring weapons in Europe. He immigrated to Israel in 1950, established a large family, and lived to see five generations of his descendants. Beginning in the late 1970s, he made multiple trips to Poland to locate and restore abandoned or desecrated Jewish cemeteries, mass graves, and historical tombstones. His efforts in identifying over 3,000 graves in Poland were recognized by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who recalled meeting Widawski at the presidential residence when he was 104.

Widawski's dedication to preserving memory led to him being chosen to light a torch at the national Yom HaShoah ceremony at Yad Vashem in 2012. He was also a significant figure in the Sochaczew and Modzitz Hasidic communities. President Herzog stated that Widawski viewed his survival and the existence of the State of Israel as his revenge against the Nazis, calling his life a testament to the triumph of life and memory over destruction.