Abba Naor — Association of Jews of Vilna and vicinity in Israel

Chapter 1: This is a story about the fascinating chapters of the life of Abba Naor from Rehovot. He was born in Kovno, Lithuania. After the German invasion, he was interned together with his family in the Kovno ghetto, where his older brother, Chaim, was captured while searching for food and was killed. A rocky journey began from the Kovno ghetto. The father was taken into forced labor, Berale, his six-year-old brother, and his mother Chana, were sent to Auschwitz. "The moment I saw my mother and brother heading towards the train, I realized that was it," recalled Abba. "I could say 'goodbye' forever."

The prisoners were taken out on a death march. They walked without food and water, in rain and snow, eating grass along the way. On May 2, 1945, the guards disappeared; American soldiers arrived and informed them "you are free." The war was over.

He arrived at a Displaced Persons camp near Munich, located his father, and the two moved to Poland. Abba joined the Kibbutz Lohamei Haghetaot nucleus, and in 1946, he boarded an 'illegal' immigrant ship, which was later captured by the British. He was imprisoned in Cyprus in a detention camp.

Chapter 2: The Shin Bet, the Mossad and "Operation Moses": He reached Eretz rHeIsrael in 1947 and fought in the War of Independence. Here began the new and fascinating chapter of his new life. In 1950, he was drafted into the Shin Bet, and later transferred to the Weizmann Institute for special activities. He was drafted into the Mossad, and in 1984-1985 participated in "Operation Moses," which involved the transfer of thousands of Ethiopian Jews from refugee camps in Sudan to Israel via naval ships and Israeli planes. Over the years, Abba has refused to expand on his life as a "silent warrior." Recently, his entire life story was told at the Yad Vashem beacon lighting ceremony.

Chapter 3: The Mission of Remembrance: After the end of his state service, he began activities to preserve the memory of the Dachau concentration camp. As Chairman of the International Dachau Committee (CID) and Dachau sub-camps, Vice President of the World Association of Dachau Prisoners, he divides his time between Germany and Israel. In Germany, he is a guest of the Bavarian government which makes a vehicle and a driver available to him. He travels from schools to universities, to army camps and tells them his life story and the history of the Dachau concentration camp.

He is a major participant in the official ceremonies held in Dachau. He accompanied President Rivlin, the President of Germany, and the Prime Minister of Bavaria at the memorial service in Dachau. He accompanied the U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on a visit to the camp. The Vice President made sure that the book Abba wrote would be translated into English as well.

Members of the Bavarian parliament cheered for a long time: In honor of Abba Naor's 90th birthday, he was invited to a meeting of the Bavarian parliament, the largest in Germany. During the usual meeting, the hearing was adjourned. One of the members of parliament went up to the podium and told Abba's life story and his work for the preservation of the memory of the Dachau concentration camp as well as his educational activities among German youth.

At the end of her speech, the members of parliament and those sitting in the gallery, stood up and cheered him for a long time. Afterwards, a gala dinner was held in his honor with the participation of MPs, government representatives and guests. This was an extraordinary tribute to a man who devoted decades to preserving the memory of Dachau and educating the youth.

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Photography Testimony [Hebrew]