Yehuda Aharon Widawski, who survived both the Lodz Ghetto and Auschwitz-Birkenau, and later devoted decades to restoring Jewish cemeteries in Poland, died on Sunday night at age 107.
Widawski was Israel's oldest Holocaust survivor and one of the oldest members of the Sochatchov and Modzitz Hasidic communities.
Born in Poland in 1919, Widawski was imprisoned with his family in the Lodz Ghetto following the Nazi invasion. He was later deported to Auschwitz, where he lost his parents and most of his siblings.
Together with his brother, Jehoszua, Widawski survived Josef Mengele's selection. Eight days later, the two brothers were sent to the Friedland work camp, before being liberated by the Red Army in 1945.
After the war, he assisted the Irgun's arms procurement efforts in Europe. He immigrated to Israel in 1950, settled in the country, and built a large family, living to see a fifth generation.
A life's work of memory, revival
Beginning in the late 1970s, Widawski returned to Poland repeatedly, locating and restoring dozens of Jewish cemeteries and mass graves that had been neglected and desecrated. He also worked to preserve historic gravestones.
In 2012, Widawski was chosen to light a torch at the state Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Yad Vashem in recognition of his work preserving historical memory.
He also became a prominent witness at ceremonies held by Jews of Polish origin and remained a leading figure and role model in the Sochatchov and Modzitz Hasidic communities. He retained his mental clarity and warm demeanor until his final days.
His death on the eve of the Jewish New Year marks the passing of one of the most prominent symbols of revival to emerge from the ashes of the Holocaust, a man who endured some of the worst horrors of the 20th century and chose to devote his life to ensuring that future generations would not forget.
President Isaac Herzog paid tribute to Widawski in a post on X/Twitter.
"I was saddened to hear of the passing of Yehuda Aharon Widawski, of blessed memory, a survivor of Auschwitz and the Nazi camps, at the age of 107," Herzog wrote. "When he was 104, I had the privilege of hosting Yehuda at the President's Residence together with his magnificent family. I was moved to hear from him about his life story and about his decision to return to Poland years after immigrating to Israel in order to search for his grandmother's grave."
"That search became a life's work," Herzog said.
"For decades, Yehuda worked to locate and restore Jewish cemeteries and graves in Poland, and helped identify more than 3,000 graves," he went on. "Yehuda once said that his revenge against the Nazis was that they lost, and that we have the State of Israel. Indeed, his life was a remarkable testament to the victory of life, memory, and revival. May Yehuda's memory be blessed.""