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Holocaust Survivor Meets Rescuer's Grandson After 80 Years
21 Aug
Summary
- David Danieli met President Isaac Herzog, grandson of his Holocaust rescuer.
- Danieli was among 500 Jewish children rescued by Rabbi Isaac Herzog's committee.
- The meeting occurred 80 years after Danieli boarded a rescue train in Poland.
Eighty years after being rescued, Holocaust survivor David Danieli met with President Isaac Herzog at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. Danieli was one of over 500 Jewish children orphaned by the Holocaust who were rescued by Rabbi Isaac Halevi Herzog and his Va'ad Hatzala (Rescue Committee).
In August 1946, Danieli boarded a train from Katowice, Poland, with other orphaned Jewish children. His parents had been deported to Auschwitz. He was hidden by a non-Jewish neighbor, Martha Kapitza, who protected him during the war.
The rescue train journeyed through Europe, with Danieli eventually being cared for in Strasbourg, France. He later attempted to reach Israel on the SS Exodus but was intercepted by British authorities.
After returning to Europe, Danieli successfully immigrated to Israel in 1948. He became an engineer, raised a family, and settled in Beersheba. He recently celebrated his 94th birthday.
