Holocaust survivor and renowned historian Israel Gutman dies

Yad Vashem International Institute for Holocaust Research founder who survived Auschwitz and Warsaw Ghetto Uprising passes away in Jerusalem at the age of 90.

By TAMARA ZIEVE
Prof. Israel Gutman 370 (photo credit: courtesy yad vashem)
Prof. Israel Gutman 370
(photo credit: courtesy yad vashem)
Prominent Holocaust historian Prof. Israel Gutman, a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and Auschwitz, passed away on Monday night.
He died in his city of residence, Jerusalem, at the age of 90.
Gutman, who was born in Warsaw in 1923, was one of the founders of the Yad Vashem International Institute for Holocaust Research.
Yad Vashem chairman Avner Shalev described Gutman as a personal mentor and friend, who “made a deep impression on historiography in Israel and around the world, and made a significant and unique contribution to the propagation of historical awareness regarding the Holocaust and its meanings among the wider public forum in Israel, especially among the youth.”
He added that “Prof. Gutman’s personal resume – as someone who experienced in the flesh the horrors of the Holocaust, fought in the Warsaw ghetto, was imprisoned in Auschwitz and was a member of the camp’s Jewish underground, survived the death marches and was a witness to all that occurred – added an enormous weight to his rare and exceptional strength as a researcher, teacher and leader.
We will miss his insight and his friendship.”
Gutman lost his parents and older sister in the ghetto and was himself wounded in the uprising. From Warsaw he was moved to Majdanek, then on to Auschwitz, and in May 1945 he was sent on the death march to Mauthausen.
After the war, he was active in aiding the rehabilitation of survivors. He made aliya in 1946.
He is survived by two daughters and three grandchildren.
His funeral is set to take place on Wednesday in Jerusalem.