Going through hell twice: Thousands of Israeli Holocaust survivors lived through Oct 7 Hamas atrocities

As the people of Israel continue to work through the trauma of Oct. 7, several thousand elderly Holocaust survivors are especially impacted.

After surviving hell in Europe, they immigrated to Israel with the belief that a Jewish state would be a safe haven for Jews – but on Oct. 7, they once again had to flee for their lives.

Among the 133,362 living Holocaust survivors in Israel, there was one – Moshe Ridler from Kibbutz Holit – who was murdered by Hamas terrorists. Another Holocaust survivor, 86-year-old Shlomo Mansour from Kibbutz Kissufim, was the oldest hostage abducted by terrorists remains in captivity in the Gaza Strip.

About 2,000 Holocaust survivors were evacuated from their homes near the Gaza Strip or the northern border with Lebanon after Oct. 7. Among them, a total of 86 have since passed away while being displaced from their homes.

“The seven months of the war affected the lives of all of us, but in their consequences for the survivors of the Holocaust there is a special element,” Knesset Member Merav Cohen, chairman of the government committee responsible for the issue, told Ynet News.

“The Black Sabbath and the continuous broadcast of the horrors re-flooded traumas and pain among all Holocaust survivors, especially among those who lived in the Gaza Envelope. This is a generation that is getting older, and is dwindling. We owe them not only the ability to live with dignity at this age but also to see the restoration of the state and the return of the hostages,” Cohen added.

Many of the survivors cannot understand how Oct. 7 could happen in Israel, said Moran Ben David, director of programs in the south at the Friendship Fund.

“In World War II they were not in the Jewish state. On October 7, it happened in Israel, in our safe place. Some of them lost neighbors, friends, people close to them. There are survivors who have grandchildren who are soldiers, and the trauma intensifies,” she said.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is commemorated in Israel on Monday, Ynet News compiled the stories of several people who survived both the Holocaust and the horrors of Oct. 7.

“After the damned Hitler’s first speech, my grandfather, who was a Zionist, gathered our family and announced that starting tomorrow we should make an effort to leave Germany,” said Yosef Bernhard, who is 92 years old and immigrated from Berlin in 1938.

He settled in Kibbutz Sa'ad, where he married and had five sons. Today he has 17 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

When Hamas invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, Bernhard was made a refugee a second time.

“We don’t turn on the radio on Shabbat and that day I still didn’t fully understand what happened. It wasn’t until the next day that we realized the magnitude of the disaster.”

“My concern grew when I heard what happened to our neighbors in Kfar Aza, who lost about 70 friends. It really affected me. I couldn't believe it happened. It’s a catastrophe. There are 200 meters between the gates of the kibbutzim, and it is a miracle that the limited forces of Sa'ad’s emergency squad were able to defend the fence.”

Bernhard and his neighbors from the kibbutz were evacuated to a hotel near the Dead Sea.

He said one of his greatest accomplishments was helping to establish a settlement on the nation's border and it was very difficult for him to leave. About one month ago, they were allowed to return home due to the improved security situation.

“For me, it was a very great gift, even though to this day we continue to hear battles, explosions and small arms fire not far from us,” Bernhard said.

Another survivor, 92-year-old Shoshana Carmin, told Ynet she was never affected by Israel's wars.

“After I immigrated to Israel, there were quite a few wars here. I always asked why they call it war? After all, there is electricity, water, public transportation, television, schools, and open shops. I knew another war during the Holocaust in Hungary. All the things I listed were not there, as well as many other things,” Carmin said.

Rosa Shotsky (88) was alone in her home in Sderot on the morning of Oct. 7. “I have a hearing problem and I was not at all aware of what was happening outside,” she said.

“Only the next day they told me that terrorists had moved through this neighborhood. Luckily I didn’t see them, otherwise, I would have died of fear on the spot. The stories I heard about what happened here reminded me of stories from World War II. I didn’t think such things could happen in our country.”

Shotsky grew up in the Soviet Union and was a little girl when World War II broke out. She said spent most of her life in the Soviet Union, only emigrating to Israel in 1990.

“There wasn’t enough food. Sometimes we would put some flour in a pot of water and cook something like soup out of it so that it would be satisfying. We also had to hide all the time.”

Shotsky was evacuated from her home after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists and the subsequent outbreak of the war in Gaza.

“I thought we had security here, an army that protects us. I didn’t think something like this could happen here. There are still alarms in Sderot and I’m scared. When I’m alone it’s even worse. I’m really shaking with fear.”